


Trust Me

by joshiferdallas



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff, Romance, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-05
Updated: 2016-09-05
Packaged: 2018-08-13 06:12:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 163,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7965628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshiferdallas/pseuds/joshiferdallas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After their return from Neverland, Emma and Regina had expected their lives to fall relatively quiet without any hidden surprises. Little did they know, the dark curse wasn't the only thing Storybrooke needed to worry about; because now, there's a new villain in town. Nothing will ever be the same again. Warning: blood and torture scenes. </p><p>CURRENTLY BEING REWRITTEN</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Family Night

**Author's Note:**

> Set around S3x08. Everyone has just returned to Storybrooke from Neverland; Henry is living with Regina, Pan is in the hands of Rumple and everything is getting back to 'reality'.

**CHAPTER ONE- Family Night**

"Hey, mom, I'm home!" Henry bellowed as he threw himself through the door of the mayoral mansion. Henry had returned to live with Regina when they arrived back in Storybrooke after their Neverland _adventure_ and Emma came to her senses that Regina really wasn't a bad mother.

Pounding his way through the hallway, Henry ran into the living room to find both Emma and Regina laughing on the couch, each with a glass of wine in their hands. Neither of them noticed his entrance, so any sudden movement from him would have been enough for either of them to react.

"Hey..." Henry said after he cleared his throat quiet enough not to startle his mothers.

"Oh, hello dear." Regina said, turning around to see her son standing in the doorway. "How was your first day back?"

"It was great! I just wish that it wasn't a Friday so I could go back again tomorrow..." Henry started before getting overly excited and talking through word vomit. "My new teacher let me tell the entire class about what happened in Neverland, and how you two defeated Pan and rescued me, and how Grandpa almost died, and how Pan is actually my great grandfather and-"

"You told them that!?" Emma cut him off, beginning to regret that she had actually told him about his entire family on the Jolly Rodger during their return.

"Yeah!" Henry said, still too excited about telling them the story of his day to calm down. "It was great, I had to draw out my family tree on the whiteboard because everyone got confused. My teacher did too!"

"I bet she did," Regina muttered under her breath so it was loud enough for Emma to catch it and scoff, but quiet enough that Henry would just ignore his slightly amused mothers.

"So, what are you doing here, Emma?" Henry wondered, realising that the two women sat on the couch was an odd sight to see.

"What? Do you not want me here?" Emma teased. "Your mom invited me for dinner so the three of us could spend some time together."

"Really!?" Henry beamed before running at Regina with a huge hug.

"Hey, kid, don't I get one?" Emma poked, making Regina let out a quiet, breathy laugh.

To Emma's surprise, Henry stuck out his arm to invite his birth mother into the hug that he still hadn't broken with Regina. Obeying her child, she wrapped her arm around his waist and hugged him, being careful not to touch Regina, just in case she decided to flip out and cancel their entire night together. There always had to be precautions with Regina.

"Okay, before you can sit down to watch some TV, you need to make sure your homework is done, Henry." Regina dictated as she wedged herself out of her son's tight grasp, which told him to let go of Emma too.

"But can't I-" Henry started before noticing that Regina was glaring at him. "Fine. But can I ask what you two were laughing so hard at when I got home?"

"You." Emma smiled, "We were laughing about you. Obviously I never got to see what you were like as you were growing up, so your mom thought I would like to hear some funny stories about you."

Henry's cheeks turned bright red at the thought of what Regina may have told Emma while he was at school. The look of horror on his face made his blonde mother almost erupt with laughter. Regina on the other hand, was fighting away her chuckles in order to keep a straight face.

"Which stories did you tell her...?" He questioned, standing frozen like a statue in front of his mothers.

"Well," Regina quickly glanced at Emma who was biting her bottom lip to hide the huge smile across her face before looking back to her impatiently blushing son. "Do you remember that time where I took you to the pond to feed the ducks?"

Henry's face looked puzzled. Clearly she hadn't told him this little story.

"Rather than letting go of the piece of bread that you had in your hand, you threw yourself into the pond along with the bread." Henry's eyes widened with embarrassment as Regina began to continue with the list of stories she had. "Then I told her about a few mishaps we had during your potty training-"

"Oh my god!" Henry yelled to cut off his mother from saying anything else and threw his hands over his ears, "Mom you're so embarrassing! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone about those stories!"

With the sound of Emma hysterically laughing by the side of her, Regina couldn't help but join in, but with a slightly calmer and more elegant approach, making Henry grow redder and redder before running out of the room and up the stairs to his bedroom. Emma continued to chuckle as she sipped at her wine to calm herself and began to question if the wine was making her incredibly giggly or if it was just the nerves of being alone with Regina.

"Sometimes I wish I was there to see him grow up. Watching him grow up now has made me realise how much important stuff I've missed." Emma sighed and placed the wine glass on the table in front of them. "You did an amazing job though, raising him, I mean. He's a great kid Regina, and I just want to thank you for the life you've given him. Everything he has here is everything I could never give him."

Regina looked at Emma in disbelief that the daughter of Snow White was actually thanking her for doing something right. "Thank you, Miss Swan. However, in the eyes of many people, the life that he lived over the last month or so has most certainly been an unsafe one and I can't help but feel responsible for everything that happened."

"You can't blame yourself for that. Technically, it was August's fault for what he did in Hong Kong when he met Tamara. But then there's also the fact that Neal dated the woman and brought her to Storybrooke..." Emma almost felt to blame when she looked back on the situation. Not only was she connected to Neal, but also if August hadn't travelled with her through the tree, none of this would have happened. "If anything, I'm more to blame than you are; I shouldn't have brought Neal to Storybrooke. I think it would be safe to begin to highly dislike and distrust men after this situation." Emma laughed and made Regina smile.

"I couldn't agree with you any more, dear." Regina said as she took another sip of her wine.

Emma coughed at the sound of Regina agreeing with something she said and stared at her in a state of exaggerated shock.

"What on earth are you gawping at, Miss Swan?" Regina said, using her index finger to push up Emma's jaw that had dropped with a comical look.

"Are you feeling okay?" Emma reached up to Regina's forehead and pressed her fingers against it. "You just agreed with something that I said – you must be sick."

"Very funny, dear. You have your moments of glory, dear, and that was something I completely agree with." Regina raised an eyebrow at the immature blonde sat before her and watched her process the thoughts streaming through her mind.

"Well then," Emma started before picking up her wine glass. "Let's toast: here's to not trusting men again. Well, for a little while at least."

Regina smiled and clinked her wine glass with Emma's and look a large swig before setting it down on the table in front of her. Then she looked down at her watch to find that it was later than she expected and brushed off the invisible dust on her slacks before standing.

"I'm going to start dinner. You're welcome to put the television on if you wish." Regina said as she started to leave the living room, stopping abruptly to turn on her heel to face Emma. "Just don't spill any of that wine on my couch."

Emma raised an eyebrow at Regina's childish expectations and decided to join the brunette in the kitchen. After spending so much time with Regina, Emma knew that she wasn't as bad as she, and everyone else in town, had previously thought. She was just incredibly uptight and damaged - two things that Emma completely understood.

"What are we having?" Emma asked as she leaned on the marble counter in Regina's kitchen, swirling the red wine around her glass.

"Since I know how much you enjoyed my lasagna at your welcome home party at Granny's, I thought I might to make another for you." Regina remembered how awkward that party had actually been for her. The only people that wanted her there were Emma and Henry, while everyone else just gave her disgusting looks throughout the night.

"Any poison in it this time, your majesty?" Emma teased, almost hitting a nerve in the brunette, who caught the childish glint in Emma's eyes.

"Very funny, Miss Swan. You know full well that my chili flakes are the only suspicious substance in the entire recipe." Regina said with a smug smile.

"Nope, I'm positive there's a hint of sarcasm in there too."

"Miss Swan, you should know that I am not afraid to hit you with this towel." Regina held up the kitchen towel that she had been using to put the lasagna in the oven and twirled it a little to frighten the blonde.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Emma said throwing her hands in the air to surrender with a light laugh.

"I thought you might be."

Regina continued to prepare the meal as Emma leaned on the counter, watching every move Regina made. The woman moved with such elegance and regality that Emma couldn't take her eyes off her as she flitted around the kitchen. It was the first time she had ever been able to appreciate how beautiful Regina really was. She already knew the woman was attractive - gods, she was completely in love with her anyway, but seeing the usually terrifying woman in the most domestic scene ever, Emma thought she was going to start drooling.

Neither of them had realised that they had been standing in the kitchen in complete silence for at least fifteen minutes. There hadn't really been any need to talk, as both women felt comfortable with the company of the other without feeling awkward in any way. They occasionally made eye contact and shared light smiles, yet not a single word was spoken between them.

Breaking their silence by running down the stairs with a heavy-footed stride, Henry was feeling far too excited about spending some quality time with both of his mothers.

"Hey, Emma, wanna go watch some tv?" Henry said as he jumped through the doorway of the kitchen.

"Hold up, I need the two of you to set the table." Regina interrupted before Emma could answer and handed the blonde a tray of condiments, cutlery and placemats. "Dinner will be ready by the time the two of you have finished."

Henry's shoulders lowered as he slumped away into the dining room. Emma followed behind and gently nudged her son in acknowledgement of spotting his tiny little tantrum.

"Hey, don't show off, kid. She's good to you. Besides, all she asked you to do was to set the table and she even sent me to help. If it was me, I would have made you do it all on your own!" Emma poked out her tongue and tickled Henry's ribs.

Squirming under the tickles, Henry let out a loud laugh. He hadn't realised how much he had missed having Emma around and now that Regina was willing to invite his birth over to spend time with him made him really appreciate everything that she did for him.

The two quickly set the table in anticipation of tucking into what Regina had prepared. This meal would be the first home cooked meal that Emma had eaten since returning from Neverland. She had spent the entire time eating take-out food from Granny's or asking her mother to heat up a frozen pizza for her. Cooking her own food was way too far out of her comfort zone - she could do it, of course, but she would much rather avoid the risk of food poisoning.

"Here you go, Henry." Regina said as she handed Henry his dinner plate when he arrived in the kitchen with Emma once again. "And this one is yours, Miss Swan." She handed Emma her plate with a smile, which Emma returned immediately when she noticed her place was stacked almost twice as full as Henry's.

"Thanks, Regina." Emma said, still smiling at the brunette. "It smells delicious."

"And it's going to get cold too, if you don't stop standing there and grinning at me like you're a six-year-old who has just been given a bag of candy."

Emma rolled her eyes and joined Henry in the dining room, who had already started eating his food.

"Wow, someone's eager." Emma laughed at her son who was shoveling his lasagna into his mouth faster than anyone she's ever seen. "Henry slow down. You're going to make yourself sick."

"No way, Mom's lasagna is the best." Henry said through a full mouth.

Emma waited for Regina's arrival in the dining room to actually start eating her food, unlike Henry, who was almost finished and probably feeling sick. When Emma looked up to find Regina in the doorway carrying her plate, a bottle of wine and two more wine glasses, she couldn't help but rush over to help her by taking the wine and the glasses out of her hands.

"Thank you, Miss Swan." Regina let out a sigh of relief at the fact that she didn't smash anything.

Regina sat herself on the end of the long, rectangular table with Henry to her left and Emma on her right. Before starting her food, she poured two glasses of red wine and handed one to Emma, keeping the other for herself.

Henry, on the other hand, had taken a can of sugar-free soda from the fridge before running into the dining room to completely destroy the food on his plate. As disgusting as that was, Regina couldn't help but stifle a laugh when she noticed the similarities between Henry and his birth mother. The only difference between the two of them was how much Henry looked like his grandmother; with his thick dark hair, distinctively pink lips and pale skin, it was almost unmissable. Whereas Emma's light hair, graceful features and gangly limbs made her resemble her father more than anything.

The three sat in silence until Henry had almost cleared his plate and decided that there should have been an ongoing conversation between the three of them. So that's exactly what he tried to create.

"This is a stupid question, I know," Henry stalled, grabbing the attention of both of his mothers. "Are you two friends now?"

The question caught both Emma and Regina completely off guard. Neither had even thought about a possible friendship between the two of them. They both felt obliged to hate each other from day one, especially due to the fact that not only was Emma Henry's birth mother, but she was also the daughter of Prince Charming and Snow White - the Evil Queen's arch enemies. Neither of them had actually considered getting to know the other before deciding that they disliked each other. But now, after spending so much time together, both women knew that they would probably have to attempt to be civil, just because they were Henry's parents.

"Um, I guess so." Emma stuttered and looked towards Regina for an approval.

"Yes, Henry. Emma and I are _friends_ now." Regina said confidently. "Emma and I spent a lot of time together on Neverland whilst looking for you and over time we got to get to know and understand each other a lot more than previously."

Emma shot a grateful smile at Regina before returning to her food that was indeed getting cold.

"So does that mean that you're going to be friends with grandma and gramps?" Henry quizzed with an overly hopeful look on his face.

"Um, well, I don't really-" Regina stuttered, feeling speechless for the first time in years.

"They're going to try to get along, Henry." Emma interrupted, as soon as she spotted Regina become flustered under the pressure of the question. Even Emma knew that befriending her parents was far too large a step for a woman that could still barely tolerate her. "You see, your mom and my mom have never really gotten along, so it's gonna be difficult for them to get used to having each other around again."

"But you will try though, won't you, mom?" Henry pleaded with a glimmer of hope remaining in his eyes.

"Yes, Henry. The Charmings and I are going to _attempt_ to get along." She muttered in a regrettable tone that was completely undetected by Henry. She still despised the idea of having the Charmings in her life again, almost as much as she hated the fact that she had somehow fallen into the trap of having feelings for their daughter.

Henry grinned at his mothers, who were both nervously swigging their wine to avoid any more questions about Regina's relationship with Emma's parents. Little did he know, there was a lot more going on behind their eyes than they were willing to show.

"Okay," He said, still smiling. "Can I go watch tv now?"

"Of course," Regina sighed. "But take your plate into the kitchen and rinse it so I can wash it later."

Henry grabbed his plate as fast as he could and ran into the kitchen, leaving Emma and Regina alone in silence, with only their thoughts echoing louder than anything they had ever imagined.

"Did you actually tell your mother that I had invited you for dinner?" Regina eventually asked, filling the silence.

"Yeah," Emma began and noticed the comic look on Regina's face. "She was actually really concerned. She thought you were going to attempt to kill me or something. I think she would have preferred to have heard me telling her that I was going on a date with Hook instead."

"Oh, she's an idiot." Regina snorted before changing her tone to sound surprisingly concerned. "Do you actually see anything in that man?"

"No, not really." Emma laughed, feeling as though the question Regina had asked had a fairly obvious answer. "He just doesn't like to take no for an answer, you know?"

"I would love to cut off that other hand of his. I'd like to see how smug he would be completely handless." Regina smiled a sinister smile at the image of Killian Jones waving around two silver hooks on his wrists.

"I'm surprised that you didn't stick to his clichéd fairytale story and choose to cut off his leg and watch him hop around with a wooden stump as well." Emma scoffed.

"Surprisingly, I now have a mental image of Jones waddling around with a wooden leg and two hook hands while he tries to chase down a rollaway bottle of really bad rum." Regina laughed and took another sip of her wine.

The two fell into another short silence until they had both finished their meal, to which Emma was most grateful for. She knew that will all of the wine she had already drank tonight, she would probably make a fool out of herself just because of the situation they were in. It felt like a date, it looked like a date, yet Emma knew that what they were doing was far from having a date.

"Thank you, Regina." Emma said as soon as she had finished. "I'd almost forgotten how good your lasagna was."

Regina merely smiled at the blonde's compliment; still unsure whether whatever she said was the honest truth. She had finished her meal almost momentarily after Emma and was feeling rather eager for the two of them to join their son in front of the television before his bedtime; any more time alone and Regina was pretty sure she would end up doing or saying something she would regret.

Removing the napkin she had placed upon her lap and dabbing her mouth with it, Regina stood and reached for Emma's plate. To her surprise, her hand was swatted away and Emma picked up both her own and Regina's plates off the table and headed for the kitchen. Instead of arguing, Regina picked up the half-full wine glasses from the table and followed in silence.

"Do you two have some sort of routine where one washes and the other dries?" Emma asked as she gently set the plates down on the counter next to the sink and turned to look at Regina.

"I usually wash and Henry usually dries." She replied, handing the blonde the wine glass without the red lipstick stains.

"Okay, then I'll take Henry's place." Emma said and picked up the kitchen towel that Regina had threatened to hit her with shortly before sitting down to their meal. "Now I have the control." Emma croaked in her Gollum imitation as she repeated the same action that Regina had by swirling the towel to a point.

"Are you sure you want to do that, Miss Swan?" Regina held a smug grin on her face as she raised her empty hand and quickly formed a fireball in her palm.

"That's totally not fair, Madam Mayor!" Emma shouted and tried to find cover by hiding under the breakfast bar, gripping the towel as if it was actually going to save her from an oncoming fireball attack.

"Oh, come on, saviour. You and I both know that you can and _have_ used magic once you set your mind to it."

"Easy for you to say, your _majesty_. Not all of us were raised in the Enchanted Forest while being magic tutored by Rumplestiltskin." Emma shouted up to Regina as she twirled the towel a little more before grabbing the other end and stood from underneath the breakfast bar. "So, you have an unfair advantage!"

"What are you going to do, call your _mommy_?" Regina pouted and tilted her head as she placed her wine glass out of reach.

"I don't know, maybe my dad would bring the _White Knight_ her sword." Emma boasted with a cocky stance.

"Oh yes, isn't that the sword that you just so aimlessly wave around praying that you're going to hit someone or something, just so you can tell everyone about it?" Regina mocked, knowing how clumsy and inexperienced Emma was with both magic and sword fighting. "Who would have thought that Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter, the Saviour, would be so terrible at defending herself?"

By now Emma was feeling agitated and really wanted to use magic to prove Regina wrong, but every time she had actually attempted to use magic, it either backfired or she had the help of either Regina or Rumplestiltskin. She knew that magic came with a price, and messing with it would probably have some serious consequences.

"Fine. Let's do this." Emma said and threw the towel onto the floor and stared straight at Regina, damning every consequence she could think of.

"Just remember: think hard and powerful at what you want to happen, and if you're doing it right, it will actually happen, Miss Swan. Trust me." Regina said calmly, as if Emma's magical incapabilities didn't faze her for a second, but inside, she was terrified. She was terrified because only she truly knew how powerful Emma was. Not even Emma understood the power of the magical energy that freely flowed through her veins.

Emma stood in the middle of the kitchen with her legs at shoulders width apart, with her arms by her side. Her shoulders back and a stare on her face that made even Regina begin to feel slightly concerned. When she tried, Emma could look like the most powerful person in the room and right now, that was one thing she could say she had over Regina. Taking a deep breath, Emma closed her eyes and thought harder than ever before, causing her entire body to begin to shake and pulsate. Slowly, she opened her eyes again, bringing forward every ounce of emotion she had in her body to her green eyes.

"War is on." She growled and lifted her right hand into a claw shape, ready to conjure the same ball of fire that Regina was still holding in her own hand.

Still waiting, Regina was beginning to worry that Emma would think too hard and cause the entire house to go up in flames with the three of them still inside. She continued to watch Emma close her eyes once again, cautiously putting out the fireball in her own hand, just in case. ' _No way is she going to do this._ ' Regina thought to herself.

A huge white puff of smoke shook Regina from her thoughts and Emma's eyes shot open. It had taken Regina a few moments to realise what had just happened right in front of her eyes. Not only had the blonde performed magic, oh no. Somehow, the blonde had performed magic to create the giant, frosting covered cupcake that weighed down heavily in her hand.

"What the _fuck_?" Emma shouted before whacking her free hand at her mouth, hoping that Henry didn't hear her language, or Regina for that matter.

"Oh, congratulations, Miss Swan." Regina chuckled. "You're about as talented as your mother."

"Hey, I could still throw this at you, you know." Emma said, raising the cupcake a little higher. "You told me that it was going to work and I ended up conjuring a _freaking_ cupcake! You caused this, didn't you?"

"I had nothing to do with your wonderful incapabilities, dear. I merely stood here and witnessed the Charming gene's idiocy firsthand."

By now the sound of Regina's laughter had echoed through the entire house causing Henry to come rushing into the kitchen to find Regina sipping the remains of the wine in her glass to drown out the sounds of her laughter and Emma still holding a gigantic cupcake with a befuddled look across her face.

"Were you two just using _magic_...?" Henry asked as he pointed at the giant cupcake.

"It was your mom's fault!" Emma yelled before realising what she had just said.

"You are actually like a child, Miss Swan." Regina said as she rolled her eyes. "What really happened Henry, is that your mother decided that she wanted to _whip_ me with a towel. In retaliation, I conjured a fireball to scare her, thus causing the situation to escalate to the point where she almost killed me... with a cupcake." The smile on Regina's face only grew more as she tormented Emma, whose facial expression changed from a scowl to a murderous glare. "Actually, it's a good job you can't conjure those fireballs, dear, otherwise we would have an awful lot of frosting all over my kitchen floor, and without magic, I don't know how long that would take _you_ to clean!"

"Mom, stop teasing her! She's still learning, and I thought you two had promised to stop using magic to harm anyone. You both lied to me. Again." Henry shouted as he flashed a disapproving look to both of his mothers.

"Henry, no one was harmed. It was just a little fun with no malicious intent." Regina said, crossing the room and placing her hand on Henry's shoulder. "We wouldn't lie to you about this, sweetheart."

He narrowed his eyes at his brunette mother before peering over her shoulder to give Emma the same contemplating look. Over the last few months, he had learnt that his mothers needed a tense moment or two before they considered something.

"Fine. I will only trust the two of you if I can have the entire cupcake." Henry bargained. " _To myself_."

"No way!" Emma protested as Regina rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Henry. You can have the entire cupcake. But you can't eat it all at once." Regina said before turning to Emma who was still holding the cupcake in her hand. "And the only reason you don't want Henry to have it all ' _to himself_ ' is because you want it, don't you, sheriff?"

Emma's face turned bright red, almost the same colour that Henry's had turned earlier in the evening, making Regina smirk at how well she knew the other woman. Emma was a walking, talking, twenty-eight year old child and Regina was determined to never let her forget that.

"I'm sure I could conjure myself another one, why would I want Henry's?" Emma said, raising her eyebrows and passing the giant cupcake to their son before becoming face to face with Regina. "You're only reacting like this because you thought that I couldn't perform any sort of magic on my own, aren't you, Madam Mayor?"

"Ha! Of course not, Miss Swan. I knew you could perform magic on your own, I just didn't expect it to have been so... what's the word? Oh, _dangerous."_ Regina smirked.

Within a matter of seconds, Emma had gone from standing face to face with Regina Mills to running across the kitchen to grab the towel that she threw on the floor before her little _fiasco_. When noticing what Emma had done, Regina's face turned a horrible shade of grey.

"Don't even think about it, Miss Swan!" She shouted and pointed at Emma who was once again twirling the towel around and getting ready to flick it.

By now, Henry had become slightly bored with their playful feud and left the two of them to get off their high horses so he could enjoy his gigantic cupcake in peace in front of the tv.

"What are you going to do if I actually do it, Mayor Mills? Punish me?" Emma flashed a wicked smile at Regina and ran towards her with the towel.

"No! Don't you dare, Swan."

"Say it, Regina."

"Say what?" Regina bit, feeling slightly confused and rather anxious about her skin bruising from a whack with a dish towel.

"You know exactly what I mean, Regina. Say it. Say those two little words that you never want to say, especially to me." Emma said as she took a step towards Regina with a raised eyebrow and a daring mirth in her eye.

"Fine!" She shouted and held up her hands. "You...w..." She muttered.

"I'm sorry, madam mayor, I don't think I caught that."

"You win! Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?" Regina said, feeling her cheeks flush into a bright red colour, ironically the same way both Emma and Henry's had turned that evening.

"Thank you!" Emma smiled and wandered back to the kitchen sink and waited for Regina to start washing the dishes for her to dry.

"You are unbelievable." Regina sighed and joined Emma at the sink. "I'm positive that Henry is more mature than you are."

"Says the queen who just so happened to join in with that little turn of events." Emma smirked and took a dripping wet plate from Regina's hand.

"Miss Swan, we're not even going to continue this conversation, okay?" Regina said sternly, just to make sure that Emma knew where she stood.

With a slight nod and a suppressed chuckle, Emma continued to dry the dishes that Regina was handing over to her in utter silence until they had finished and put all of the cleaned items in their designated areas. Regina looked at the clock on the wall that read; 9:10pm. There was only twenty minutes left until Henry's bedtime, in which Regina was hoping to take advantage of. Any time spent with her son was valuable time - and that's what this evening was all about, right?

"Shall we join Henry with another glass of wine, Miss Swan?" Regina questioned, breaking their long silence. "When he lived with me his bedtime was always 9:30 and I would rather stick to old routine."

"Yeah, I'd like that. Whenever Henry stays at the apartment, his bedtime has always been 9:30, whether he liked it or not. The poor kid couldn't keep his eyes open any longer than that." Emma laughed, remembering how innocent he would look when he fell asleep in her father's arms as they watched tv just after his bedtime.

"I don't even want to think about his sleeping schedule in Neverland. No doubt he passed out a few times in the middle of their camp from lack of sleep." Regina said as she poured two more glasses of wine and still feeling guilty about Henry's journey to an island that doesn't _actually_ exist.

With their fresh glasses of wine, Emma and Regina returned to the living room to find Henry fast asleep on the couch and covered in white and blue frosting. He had eaten the entire cupcake and left crumbs everywhere.

"Clearly ignorance is something in the genes." Regina muttered as she tried to clean up the mess around her son.

"This is a Neverland habit." Emma admitted, not even bothering to argue with what Regina had just said. "Before all of that happened he wouldn't have dared to eat the entire thing and for him to leave such a big mess? That is something he's recently picked up on because he surely didn't catch that from either of us."

Regina agreed and waved her arm over their son, causing purple smoke to appear once again and within seconds, he had disappeared.

"Regina, what did you do...?" Emma asked in a slow and calm manner in hope that Regina wouldn't accuse her of blaming her for hurting Henry.

"He's currently in bed, in his pyjamas and fast asleep, Miss Swan." Regina said as she took a seat on the couch in front of the tv with her glass of wine. "Are you just going to stand there or are you going to join me?"

"I'm sorry," Emma said, shaking her head. "I just... I thought tonight was about spending time between the three of us." She muttered with a yawn as she sat beside Regina and cradled the glass of wine in her hands. "But in reality, the two of us have spent more time together than we have with Henry all night."

Regina knew that Emma was right, but she also knew that the two of them needed to spend some time together before actually diving straight into this 'co-parenting' thing. In the several hours that Regina had spent with Emma, she learnt more about the birth mother of her child than she ever thought she would. In fact, in such a short space of time, she had learnt more about Emma than when she camped with her and her parents in the middle of Neverland for a week.

"Are you not satisfied with my company, Miss Swan?" Regina raised an eyebrow at the blonde who yawned again as she shook her head.

"I never said that." Emma rubbed her eyes like a child.

"So now I know where our son gets it from. Without adrenaline or caffeine, you're incapable of staying awake any longer than an eleven-year-old." Regina smirked at the blonde's heavy eyelids as she watched the woman attempt to keep herself as alert as possible. "You're also incapable of holding a wine glass straight when you're tired, Miss Swan."

Emma looked down at the tilted wine glass to find that it was almost spilling onto Regina's couch and straightened it before quickly resting it on the coffee table in front of them. Regina rolled her eyes at the blonde and followed suit to reach for the television remote.

"I don't actually watch television." Regina admitted as she flicked through the endless number of channels. "It was an apparent luxury when we arrived in Storybrooke, but I was never one to take to the idea."

"Oh, the Walking Dead is on! You should totally watch it, it's about surviving a zombie apocalypse." Emma excitedly pointed at the screen, completely forgetting how tired she was and paid no attention to how Regina was reminiscing.

"Well, that's terribly morbid." Regina muttered as she took a sip of wine and passed the remote to Emma.

"I could have sworn that you were into things that involved death, your majesty." Emma said, which earned her a glare from the woman sitting next to her.

Emma knew that she was beginning to enjoy Regina's company, even if they did spend the majority of their time together bickering like an old married couple. Neither of them really felt the need to talk when they were together, the silence was enough for both of them to understand and appreciate the company of the other.

After being glued to the show on the television screen for all of ten minutes, Regina felt her own eyes begin to get heavy. She didn't even have the energy nor will power to actually tell Emma to go home, who was in fact still yawning and rubbing her eyes with her feet curled up on the couch under her bottom.

Failing to fight off her exhaustion, Regina gave in and let her eyelids slowly close and encase her in a deep sleep.


	2. Kiss Me

**CHAPTER TWO - Kiss Me**

"You guys actually fell asleep together?" Henry asked the next morning when he spotted Regina's head resting in Emma's waist. The moment he spotted his blonde mother's arm draped over his brunette mother's shoulders, he grinned.

The boy's question barely stirred his mothers who seemed far more comfortable in their position than they would ever care to admit in the light of day. "Moms!"

Jumping simultaneously, their eyes shot open to find Henry standing in front of them with his arms folded across his chest and a shit-eating grin on his face. It took Regina longer than expected to realise the position she had woke in and pushed herself off Emma, shooting a scowl at the blonde that could have burnt down the entire town within seconds. Emma, however, was far too amused to be hurt by the look of mortification on Regina's face.

"Well, I totally forgot how much of a morning person you were." Emma grumbled from her position on the couch as she tried her hardest not to laugh at the brunette as she attempted to compose herself in a tiny mirror on the wall.

Oblivious to what he was witnessing, Henry finally spoke up about his mothers' situation. "You guys had a sleepover and didn't tell me?" He pouted slightly and turned to his blonde mother. "Hey, Ma, are you going to be staying over more often?"

"I doubt it kid. Your mom and I were watching tv just after you went to bed and we _accidentally_ fell asleep." Emma replied with an exaggerated yawn, trying to ignore the fact that Regina's awkwardness was swallowing the room.

When his grin faded, the disappointment on Henry's face was enough to break Emma's heart. It was also enough to force her not to look at Regina, just in case she glared at her again and actually threw a fireball at her this time. That was the last thing any of them wanted.

Regina stood and attempted to fix her hair before walking over to Henry and kissing the top of his head. "Good morning, sweetheart. Can I make you some breakfast?" After all, some normalcy in her life was needed.

"Ooh! How about pancakes and a cup of hot cocoa with cinnamon?" He asked, ridding his faux disappointed look in favour for his former grin.

"Of course." Regina smiled at her son before turning her face to stone as she turned to the blonde still sprawled comfortably on her couch. "Miss Swan, could I have a word with you in the kitchen, please?"

Her tone was more demanding than questioning, so Emma rose to her feet and followed the other woman into the kitchen, leaving their son behind to watch cartoons in his pyjamas. As the two turned into the kitchen, Emma allowed her eyes to wander across the kitchen worktops instead of towards Regina's vicious glare.

"Miss Swan, I don't believe I recall mentioning a ' _sleepover_ ' when I asked you to dinner yesterday."

"Me neither, your majesty. But I do believe that you were incredibly insistent on spending some time with me last night." Emma raised her eyebrows at Regina, trying not to let on how amusing and endearing she found Regina's annoyance to be.

"Indeed I was, however, much to your dismay, I believe that my intentions were for Henry's sake, not so the two of us would wake up in each other's arms on my couch after watching ' _Walking Zombies_ ', or whatever it's called."

"It's _The_ _Walking Dead_ , Regina." Emma snorted at the frustration of the other woman. "Don't worry, Madam Mayor, I wouldn't put your precious town into such a jealous state of your position by telling them of your _generosity_."

"And what position might that be, Miss Swan?" Regina pressed.

"Oh, you know; I wouldn't want the town feeling jealous that the mayor gets to sleep with the Sheriff after a meal and several bottles of wine." Knowing that she was getting under Regina's skin already, Emma couldn't hold her tongue anymore. "I'm slightly more desirable than you might think."

"Sheriff, I think you should know that I spared you last night from getting hit by one of my fireballs. Don't make me regret that decision anymore that I already have."

"Come off it, Regina. I know you secretly like me." Emma said through a shit-eating grin, much like her son's, and stepped into Regina's personal space. "You're just too afraid to admit that you've gone soft for the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming."

"And you're awfully sure of yourself, dear." Regina stepped back, catching her hip on the kitchen counter, ultimately trapping herself between an advancing sheriff and the breakfast bar.

"Of course I am. Look at you, you're scared to admit it!" Emma taunted and brought fire into Regina's eyes. "Who would have thought that the Evil Queen would suddenly become so... _vulnerable_?"

By now, Emma and Regina were face to face with their noses almost touching. This wasn't exactly the first time that they had been so close, but for Regina, this time was a lot more intimidating. The last time it was merely Regina begging for Emma to help her to save Henry from the collapsing mine. It was clear to her that her emotions were controlling her body that day, but she couldn't decipher whether her heart skipping a beat was just emotions over Henry or if it was something else too. _Someone_ else.

The sight of Emma's lust filled eyes made her knees completely weak. In that very moment, she wanted nothing more than for the blonde to violently push her against the counter and simply take her. That was until Regina managed to take control of her wandering mind and set her wanton needs straight.

"I am not vulnerable." Regina snapped, feeling the pang of Emma's judgement; the blonde had been the only person that never questioned her state of mind. "Especially not around you. My vulnerability died years ago."

"You are such a liar." Emma whispered as she watched Regina's gaze flicker from her green eyes to her lips. She had felt something between herself and Regina ever since their first meeting, but refused to act upon it. It was almost as if Regina had understood her from the very first moment. But until now, Emma thought that it was a one sided battle - that was until she saw the way Regina trembled under her glare, looking more aroused than uncomfortable as she was cornered. With a slight smirk, Emma leaned in closer to the older woman and whispered in a demanding tone, "Kiss me."

Emma had expected Regina to slap her so hard that half of her teeth would fall out. Instead, Regina looked deeper into the blonde's eyes, looking for the slightest ounce of mirth before grasping the back of Emma's neck and colliding their lips together. Neither woman hesitated once they tasted the sweetness of the other's mouth. It was as if they had waited their entire lives for this moment, savouring every second of it as their tongues pushed through and caressed each others mouths. Regina allowed one of her hands to tug at the root of Emma's hair, while the other wrapped around the thick strap of the blonde's white tank. Emma, on the other hand, wrapped both of her arms around Regina's waist and pulled the brunette tight against her body.

After a while and some serious self control on Regina's behalf, the former queen lowered her hand onto Emma's chest and pushed her away a little, disconnecting their lips with a pop. This distance between them, however, didn't fall short. Regina refused to let go of the blonde and lingered in Emma's personal space to stare into her eyes to find the answer of why she had given in to her idiotic desires.

"Why did I do that...?" Regina questioned herself out loud before finally let go of Emma. Arousal, excitement and anxiety ran through her body faster than anything had before and a heavy tugging weighed her heart in her chest. What the hell had Emma done to her?

"Like I said, you like me." Emma said with a cocky wink and backed off a little. She felt far too confident to be smiling as much as she was. But she held onto the possibility that Regina actually liked her back, especially after _she_ kissed _her_. Besides, what was the worst she could do - singe her eyebrows off?

Regina shot another glare at the infuriating blonde in front of her. Even though she wanted to kiss the blonde again, something in her mind was fighting against her heart that she shouldn't be doing this. Yet having Emma's body so close to her own caused a flooding feeling that she wanted more - that she never wanted to lose contact with the blonde or she would, metaphorically, drown. That feeling hand been strong before their kiss, but now - now she knew how much she really needed the other woman.

"Did you guys just feel that?" Henry shouted as he came running into the kitchen, interrupting both of his mothers' thoughts by pulling them away from each other.

"Feel what, kid?" Emma asked, feeling oblivious to everything around her but Regina, who was uncharacteristically attempting to shy away by the kitchen stove.

"That massive earthquake like two minutes ago." He replied in a matter-of-fact tone and ignoring the fact that Emma was staring at his other mother like a giddy school girl.

Regina's eyes shot up to meet the green ones she knew were glued to her face with a glimmer of desperation. The heavy feeling in her heart practically begged for her instant thoughts to be true, yet something deep in the pit of her stomach told her that having Emma Swan, the Saviour as her True Love really wouldn't do them any favours. Especially not in this town. Even the thought of the Evil Queen and the Saviour as True Loves would be ridiculous to everyone.

Interrupting the Regina's internal battle and Emma's oblivious confusion was the sudden sound of Regina's home phone ringing loudly. Regina's exasperated sigh was drowned out by the sound of Henry's feet padding towards the handset in the hallway.

"Hello?...Oh, hey Gramps,...Yeah, Emma's here...Sure, I'll hand you over." Henry sprinted back into the kitchen with the landline, practically bouncing with the excitement of some sort of new drama in Storybrooke. For a eleven year old boy, life had become far too boring in the week in which he had returned from Neverland.

"Hey David, what's up?...No, but Henry felt it. What was it?...Oh, okay...Sure, I'll pick you up as soon as I can...Bye." Emma ended the call and sighed as she handed the phone back to Henry.

"What was it?" Regina finally asked, feeling the tension rise even higher.

"He has no idea. So, because I'm the Sheriff, I have to go around the town to try to piece together what happened." Emma looked towards Regina who was attempting to hide a look of regret on her face. "Hey Henry, go watch cartoons for a sec'. I need to talk to your mom, okay?"

Emma winked at her son before he ran back into the living room to enjoy the rest of his usual Saturday morning without another word.

Regina raised her eyebrows and folded her arms across her chest. "Why the hell did you kiss me?" Regina hissed through gritted teeth the moment she knew Henry would be out of earshot. The last thing she wanted was Emma Swan to actually think she had enjoyed their intimate moment.

"Actually, you closed the gap _and_ wrapped your arms around _my_ neck. Something you would care to admit, your majesty?" Emma's grin returned when she immaturely imitated Regina by folding her arms over her chest too.

"Not in the slightest, Miss Swan." Regina eased off a little before leaning back onto the counter and thinking of how to change the subject. "So, what _was_ the earthquake about, since you probably caused it with the lack of control you have over your magic." She smirked and waited for a sarcastic comment to fly at her.

"Clearly I didn't cause it because _you_ were kissing _me_ when it happened." Emma said in a childlike manner. "But my Dad thinks that we should go check it out since I'm still Sheriff and you're the mayor again." Emma muttered as she unfolded her arms and plunged her hands into her jeans pockets, feeling the tension between herself and Regina again. Things shouldn't have been so difficult between them, Emma thought to herself. Especially after _that kiss._

"Miss Swan, I hope we're not going to have a problem here." Regina looked at Emma who was swaying in front of her with her bottom lip between her teeth. "You Charmings have to understand that the people of this town still don't trust me, so it wouldn't really be a good idea for me to get involved."

"Madam Mayor, it's still your town. People re-elected you, so they do want to see you there. They want to see that you're actually interested in saving the town."

"Fine." Regina hid a sulk and stood up from the counter. "Just this once, Miss Swan, and no funny business. And most certainly no more magical cupcakes or unnecessary childlike make-out sessions. Just do us all a favour and keep your magic to yourself and stay out of my personal space."

Emma rolled her eyes, biting back every possible comeback that came to mind. "Go get dressed, Regina. I agreed with David that we would pick him up in the cruiser in a couple of minutes."

"I hope you're not serious about this, Sheriff. Not only did you fall asleep on my couch and kiss me, now you think that you can boss me around my home? I don't know what you think that little moment meant, dear, but you should understand that I'm _not_ interested." Regina huffed and barged past Emma, hoping that the other woman wouldn't be able to see the self loathing battle in her eyes.

"Just get dressed, Regina." Emma practically demanded with a sigh.

When Regina huffed and headed off, Emma followed her out of the kitchen and headed straight into the living area to find their son grinning at her again from the couch. "Hey, kid, what are you looking at?"

"I saw you."

"You saw what?" Emma questioned, almost feeling worried about what her son was about to say.

"I saw the two of you kiss." He was still grinning as he dodged a light jab from Emma, who had to hide her own excited smile. "Are you two dating?"

"Oh my god, no." Emma erupted into an uncontrollable laugh just to drown out her own nerves and slight disappointment of her rejection from Regina. "No, Henry. Your mom and I are _not_ dating."

"But you like her though, don't you? I know you do!" Henry's excitement almost stopped him from remaining in a whisper, except for the moment he leaned into Emma to whisper into her ear. "Because I know that she likes you too."

Before Emma could process what her son had told her, he jumped off the couch and ran into the kitchen, knowing that neither of his moms would be making him breakfast anytime soon. Emma stood like a statue whilst she processed her thoughts. She knew she had been attracted to Regina from the very beginning, but she had never even considered acting on it, let alone asking the woman to kiss her. The moment she had first seen Regina when she brought Henry home to Storybrooke, Emma had instantly felt a tugging somewhere in her body that pulled her closer to the woman she was supposed to hate and destroy.

She had always looked at Regina to be a complete hard-ass and was secretly terrified of her until their little family adventure in Neverland. That was when she finally understood the tugging.

That was when she knew that there was more between herself and Regina than lust.

Even the thought of the kiss that they shared in the kitchen made Emma's knees go weak and the tugging feeling grew in the pit of her stomach. For some reason, she began to crave Regina's touch, her smell, her forcefulness and her kiss.

**'** ** _Am I falling in love with Emma Swan?_** **'** A voice rattled inside Emma's head, completely confusing her before realising the husky voice belonged to Regina. Questioning her sanity, Emma gripped hold of her head as if to shake out the voice that swam through her thoughts. Clicking herself out of her confusing thoughts, Emma quickly scanned the room to see if Regina had decided to make an appearance. The room was still empty.

Choosing to ignore her questioning sanity, she glanced down at her watch before running into the entrance hall and shouting up the stairs: "Regina, come on! Shenanigans don't just wait, you know."

"Yes dear, I know." Regina said as she appeared behind Emma in a whirl of purple smoke. She had completely changed her outfit, refreshed her make-up and still managed to fix her hair. "Henry, you're going to have to stay here for a little while, dear. I'll be home soon." She shouted to her son who was shoveling Fruit Loops into his mouth as fast as he had done during dinner on the previous night.

Ignoring the stunt that Regina had just pulled, Emma grabbed her keys from the sideboard, unhooked her leather jacket from the coat stand and ran out the door, allowing Regina to trail behind her.

"You left the Sheriff's cruiser outside of my house all night?" Regina asked, trying to keep her voice down, in hope that no one noticed that the car had been parked there all afternoon and night.

"Well yeah. My bug was supposed to be in the garage until this morning. Would you have preferred that I left that outside, instead?" Emma mocked and unlocked the car before dropping herself inside.

Ignoring Emma's petty comment, Regina got into the passenger side of the cruiser and stared out of the window, thinking about the voice she had heard in her head whilst getting dressed.

**_'I am completely in love with Regina Mills.'_** The words rang throughout her mind. She hadn't realised, until hearing Emma's voice again, that it was the blonde's voice that ran through her mind and repeating the eight little words, almost chanting them like a sacred mantra. The thought of the confession actually being from Emma rather than a concept of her own mind made Regina want to shake herself. It was ridiculous to be thinking of such things. Emma Swan _did not_ love the Evil Queen. She couldn't.

From the moment that Emma promised Regina that she would save Henry from the mine, Regina held a special place in her heart for the woman, and without her realising, that small place in such a cold heart, grew larger than she had ever expected; even to the point where she unconsciously yearned for the blonde even more than she had done when the attractive stranger showed up in the middle of the night with her son in tow.

Stopping the car abruptly and beeping the horn of the cruiser, Emma waved at her father on the sidewalk. His cheeriness and enthusiastic wave made Regina groan and roll her eyes.

"Any ideas where you think we should go?" Emma asked as David sat in the backseat and buckled himself.

"I think we should try the town line, then speak to Blue at the nunnery. Maybe she'll have an insight into what happened or maybe she'll know where the magic came from." He suggested, feeling uncomfortable under Regina's glare.

"We are not getting fairies involved in this. They meddle in everything. Besides, they always get things wrong or just exacerbate things." Regina grumbled, hoping Emma would agree with her. "This was more than likely to be dark magic and we'll deal with this ourselves. No one else is to be involved in this - we don't need anymore casualties."

"Well, good morning to you too, Regina." David muttered with an over friendly and sarcastic tone. "The three of us can't solve whatever's happened, Regina, and you should know that all too well. We're going to need help from someone."

"Regina's right. Maybe we should speak to Gold." Emma agreed, ignoring the grudge between her passengers. "No doubt he's had something to do with this, as always."

Both Regina and Charming grumbled their agreements as they set off towards the town line.

*#*#*#*

The three sat in silence until they arrived at the town line and noticed something odd. No, not something, _someone_.

Regina's breath became trapped as a lump began to grow in her throat. Tears filled her eyes and doubt filled her mind.

"Daddy...?" She whispered as she gripped onto the door handle and instructed Emma to stop the car. Doing as she was told, Emma stopped the car looked at the emotive struck woman sat by her side in utter confusion at what was going on until Regina threw the passenger side door open.

"What the hell is going on?" Emma shouted as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car trailing after Regina. "Regina, who is that?"

"My father." Her smile hidden as she stood with her back towards the other woman as she ran towards her. She dared not to take her eyes away from the small, plump man, who was miraculously standing in front of the town line looking exactly the same as he did on the day of his death. Unable to control herself, Regina threw her body hurtling towards her father and fell straight through him.

The strength of the impact hit Regina harder than she expected as she slid across the floor, scraping her knees and arms on the gravel road. When her body came to a complete halt, she looked over to her father, who was still standing where he had been before she fell to the floor. Regina let out a quiet sob. When she finally risked glancing up, she watched her father slowly turn and walk towards her limp and aching body.

Too afraid to move, Regina barely held herself up as her father reached down to her face, cupping it in his hands and looking straight into her eyes.

"I love you, Regina." He started, causing Regina to weep even more. "I forgive you. I am so proud of you, my dear." Her father held her gaze with a smile for a moment longer before disappearing into thin air.

"Regina!" Emma shouted as she ran towards the crying woman on the floor. "It's okay, I've got you." She whispered as she tightly pulled Regina into her arms.

Feeling too weak to fight, she accepted Emma's embrace and effort to comfort her without even a sound of disapproval. Instead, she held onto the blonde. Regina held onto the woman as tight as she could to pull her closer until her breathing steadied once again. Emma eventually loosened her grip and lifted Regina's chin to force her to look into her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked in the calmest tone she could conjure and caught one of Regina's falling tears with the thumb that rested on her cheek.

"I... I think so." Regina stuttered, still feeling confused about the appearance of her long dead father. "That was my father... I... I killed him. It was for his heart... before I cast the curse. He was my sacrifice." Regina's sobs returned as Emma held her head to her chest. She had no idea why she was admitting all of it to Emma, but it just felt right. It felt as though Emma actually cared. It felt as though Emma wanted her to be okay. And with the tightness of her grip and sympathy in her eyes, there was no doubt that she did.

"Come on. We're going to sort this out." Emma said with a final squeeze of Regina's shoulders before she stood and helped the brunette to her feet and helped her back to the cruiser with her arm wrapped tightly around Regina's waist. Emma knew exactly who she wanted to see. It was the same little imp that she believed caused all of this.

Due to the safety-locks on the doors of the backseats of the car, David could do nothing but watch as Regina threw herself through the image of her father and onto the floor. On the return of his daughter and the injured mayor, he knew that it would be best for him to remain in silence in the back of the car until they had arrived at their next destination.

Emma sped down Main Street with the lights and sirens of the cruiser on full throttle, causing the entire street to empty within seconds of hearing it. Regina had forced herself to stop her tears and attempted to compose herself as fast as she could, hoping that neither Emma nor David would see her in a weak state for any longer than they already had. Her legs and arms were still bleeding until she hovered her hand over the grazes, sending magic through the wounds to heal them instantly. The only thing that left any evidence of her accident were her now torn, black slacks.

Stopping the car with a jolt, Emma threw herself out and pulled open the back door for David to get out. Noticing where they had stopped, Regina's face turned to stone and stormed out of the car almost identical to the way Emma had. As always, Mr Gold's Pawn Shop was completely empty apart from Mr Gold himself and his young girlfriend.

"Oh, a family outing. Have you come with open invites for the two of us to join you on this glorious morning?" Mr Gold asked in a cocky tone as the three of them burst through the front door, making Emma crunch her fists into a tighter ball than they already were. "But I do hope you're not going to break my little bell."

"Shut up, Gold." Regina snapped before anyone else could interfere. "What did you do to cause that earthquake and why the hell did you do it?" Regina's emotions were overwhelming her, making her almost feel as though she were falling deeper and deeper into her old ways without a second thought.

"I was hoping you would be able to answer the exact question for me, your majesty." He leaned on his cane with Belle's eyes on him at all times, looking just as confused as David, who remained standing behind Emma and Regina.

"Obviously I wouldn't be here if I knew the answer, _Rumple_." She snapped in return, resisting the urge to pelt a fireball at his cocky, smug smile.

"Ah, you've seen something. Something that's appeared here because of the earthquake. If you would be so kind as to indulge me in whatever it was that you saw during your little investigation." Mr Gold said, sounding a lot politer than he had done previously, after realising that this was something real.

Regina's face turned to ice at his question. Her jaw suddenly became rigid and the thought of reliving what she had just experienced was something she really wasn't fond of doing. It was something she knew that she couldn't do without actually punching him square in the face. She had quickly felt helpless and lost in her own mind. She looked over to the woman at her side in a desperate plea. **_'Please, Emma, help me.'_** She thought to herself over and over, hating herself even more for needing the help of the Saviour once more. Little did she know, her silent pleas would actually be heard for the first time in her long life.

Emma's head twitched at the sound of Regina's voice. It was the same as what happened this morning - Regina's voice was inside her head. But this time she knew why it was there. Regina was begging her to help answer Gold's question. **_'Please, Emma, help me.'_** The voice continued.

"As we drove up to the town line we saw a man standing in the middle of the road. I had never seen him before, but David and Regina clearly had." Emma began to stall at the look of pleasure on Gold's face after spotting the terror in Regina's eyes. "It was Regina's father. Regina tried to run towards him but she fell straight through his body, he hadn't flinched until she lay flat in the floor. That's when he walked towards her and then said something else before evaporating into thin air. Now, do you have any ideas of what the hell happened?"

Gold held Emma's ferocious stare until he smirked and slowly walked towards the trio in the middle of his shop.

"Well, that sounds like someone broke my curse. Someone broke my curse with a kiss. True Love's kiss in fact. But Charming, this time it wasn't you. This time it was the _first kiss_ of True Loves." Emma gave an impatient look at Gold, attempting to hide the ever growing nerves in her stomach and ignore the voices in her head. "The curse, however, was cast to make sure that once a loved one had died, there would be no way of bringing them back. I cast if after Dr. Whale so kindly decided that an attempt to bring back Daniel was a good decision. Until I can redesign the curse, the entire town will be bumping into lost loved ones on a regular basis." His smug smirk grew even more at the sight of horror on the faces of the two Charmings and the mayor.

"Someone tell Archie, otherwise he's going to have a breakdown with the number of patients he's going to have to deal with this week." David muttered as he rubbed his temples in order to calm himself, remembering the day he tried to fight off Daniel and leaving him in Regina's hands.

"Gold, how long would it take for you to remake the curse?" Emma's impatience was slowly getting the better of her. She wanted to know as much as she could before she had to broadcast the news to the entire town.

"It will take at least a week, but as always dearie, all magic comes with a price!" He waved his arms in his signature move that made Emma want to punch him.

"You know what? Do it for your grandson, since you had intended to kill him in Neverland." Emma's stubbornness was something she held dearly and she was not backing down now. If Neal could convince him to do the same, so could she.

"Go on Rumple. You know that Emma is right. I know that there are people who could come back that you don't want to see again. Please." Belle begged, knowing that he was likely to refuse Emma's offer.

Gold closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh before looking up to the terrified trio in front of him. "Fine. I'll do it for Henry." He started to turn around but then stopped himself and stared straight at Emma and Regina. "Oh, and dearies, when the two of you have grown up a little, maybe you can come and admit what you've done. You're not going to be able to hide it forever. Those side effects happen for a reason, you know."

Gold shot the two a sadistic grin before offering his arm to Belle and waltzing out of the storefront and into the back room.

"What did he mean with the whole _'admitting what you two had done'_ situation?" David was concerned and instantly knew that Gold had hit a nerve in both Emma and Regina.

"Nothing." Regina snapped as she walked straight to the door with her confident stride once again, ignoring the ever longing feeling that had now grown in her chest. "Nothing at all." 


	3. Telepathy

**CHAPTER THREE - Telepathy**

_"I saw the two of you kiss." He was still grinning as he dodged a light jab from Emma, who had to hide her own excited smile. "Are you two dating?"_

_"Oh my god, no." Emma erupted into an uncontrollable laugh just to drown out her own nerves and slight disappointment of her rejection from Regina. "No, Henry. Your mom and I are not dating."_

_"But you like her though, don't you. I know you do!" Henry's excitement almost stopped him from remaining in a whisper, except for the moment he leaned into Emma to whisper into her ear. "Because I know that she likes you too."_

* * *

As Emma, Regina and David left Mr. Gold's shop, none of them actually had a valid answer as to why such a curse was broken and who broke the damn thing.

"Maybe we should go back to our apartment and go over possibilities and a plan. I'm sure Mary Margaret will have a few ideas." David suggested as they all got back into the cruiser.

Regina rolled her eyes in disgust. "Take me home, Sheriff. As I told you earlier this morning, I am not needed in this situation. You and your deputy can do whatever you have to do to deal with this."

"Sorry, Madam Mayor, but we need you on this one." Emma said as she started up the cruiser once again.

Regina furrowed her brows with the knowledge that she would have to witness Snow and Charming pretending to be a big happy family with their unobliging twenty-eight year old daughter. After spending so much time with the Charmings in Neverland, the last thing she wanted to do would be to spend even more time with them. At least Emma's awkwardness would be something to amuse her through the painful experience.

Like Regina, Emma was also dreading their little meeting at her mother's very quaint apartment. She knew that if something were to happen in that room, at least one person would end up being injured, seriously offended or even slightly upset. However, in the pit of Emma's stomach grew a deep desire to tell Mary Margaret about the occurrence between herself and Regina at the time of the earthquake. Mary Margaret; not Snow White, not Emma's mother, but the dainty school teacher and Emma's best friend. Emma knew that it was stupid to even think about telling Mary Margaret about what had happened between her and Regina at exactly the same time as the earthquake. Some people just don't understand coincidences.

As they pulled up outside of Mary Margaret's apartment, Emma could do nothing but worry about what was about to happen. She was conflicted between telling her mother about the kiss and keeping it quiet until they knew more about how the curse broke. All she really knew, was that she needed to tell someone.

**_'I despise your mother, Miss Swan,'_** came Regina's voice echoing through her head. Noticing the seriousness of her tone, Emma rolled her eyes and shot a disapproving look at the woman sat in the passenger seat, without even questioning the fact that she could hear the brunette's overly demanding voice in her head for the third time that morning.

**_'Can you hear me?'_** Regina's voice echoed through her thoughts once again making Emma look at the woman with a worried expression and a slight nod of her head.

"Are you going to let me out or are the two of you going to continue your staring competition?" Charming interrupted, slowly becoming impatient at the silence and weird looks shared between his daughter and his wife's former step-mother.

Breaking their stare, Regina rolled her eyes and opened the door on her side. Following orders from her father, Emma got out of the cruiser and opened one of the backseat doors to let her father out of the vehicle.

**_'Your father is an idiot.'_** Regina reminded the now telepathically connected sheriff.

**_'Stop it, Regina. I don't need this now.'_** Emma knit her brow and followed her father into the apartment with Regina trailing behind.

Upon their entrance at Mary Margaret's apartment, they found the pixie-cut brunette pacing the room with a worried look etched upon her face and her arms folded across her chest. She hadn't been able to remain still since the new curse broke and spent the majority of her time pacing the room, glancing out of the window onto the town and flicking through a few books that she had bought from Gold when the first curse was broken. Without her noticing, Emma, Regina and David were standing in the doorway, simply watching the confusion and terror conflicting across her face. Drawing her out of her thoughts, David cleared his throat, making his wife jump with fear and accidentally let out a quiet squeal, which amused Regina a lot more than it should have.

"David!" She gasped and clutched her chest, hoping that her racing heart would soon beat at a slower and regular pace. "I wasn't expecting you back just yet. Did you learn anythi-" Spotting Regina in the doorway to her apartment, Mary Margaret didn't know whether to say anymore, after all, she was still trying to find a good reason for her to start trusting Regina once more. "Hello, Emma dear. Regina."

**_'Did I tell you how much I hated her?'_** Regina hissed into Emma's mind.

"Hey," Emma smiled at her mother, ignoring the telepathic comment that Regina had just shared with her. She crossed the room and gave Mary Margaret a tight hug, which was something that Emma could tell her mother needed. Since returning from Neverland, her nerves were not what they used to be and it made her incredibly anxious all the time.

"You didn't come home last night, was everything okay? I was worried sick." Mary Margaret said as she pulled away from Emma's generous hug and cupping her daughter's face in her hands. "Your father thought that you were called into the station during your dinner with Henry and Regina..."

"I'm fine, honestly." Emma reassured her in the best way possible, "I'll talk to you about it later, okay?"

**_'Don't even think about telling her about that stupid move you pulled last night and most certainly not this morning, Miss Swan.'_ **

**_'The stupid move I made? Maybe I'll just tell her the real story where you kissed me in your kitchen... Time for me to have my own fun, I think.'_** Emma knew that her new ability to talk to Regina telepathically was a tool that she could use to her advantage, even if Regina could use it against her too. Regina rolled her eyes and shot Emma a 'bring-it-on' glare which was completely overlooked by both David and Mary Margaret.

"So, what happened?" Mary Margaret said, breaking the silence and walking into her kitchenette to prepare some hot cocoa for the four of them.

Regina closed her eyes tight in the hope that she wouldn't have to hear the story about her late father's recent reappearance in front of the town line. In attempt to hide it, she wandered towards the breakfast bar and took a seat next to Emma, who could tell that she wasn't ready to hear the original version of the story for the second time that morning.

"People who passed away in your world are coming back to life in an almost 'ghost' form, even though they look like they're physically here." Emma informed, attempting to be as careful as she possibly could. "Gold cast the curse a while back to prevent anyone from attempting to resurrect anyone that had passed."

**_'Thank you.'_** Regina allowed a little smile to appear on her lips and let it last long enough for only Emma to see it, but made it discreet enough for no-one else to notice. Regina was surprised at how much Emma actually cared about her and she couldn't help but find herself feeling the same way about the blonde. She had always given the slightest thought for Emma, but this was different, she was actually beginning to care about Emma and the way she was feeling. Was it their telepathic connection that made them feel this way, or was it that after sharing a kiss it helped to sprout underlying feelings between the two? Either way, Regina now knew that she felt something for Emma Swan and it wasn't something that she was going to overlook.

"I'm gonna go call Archie to let him know what's happened. The most we can do is to be prepared for the worst." David kissed the top of his wife's head before he excused himself from gathering in the kitchen.

"Who did you see, Regina?" Mary Margaret asked as soon as David was out of earshot. She didn't want to be abrasive, she just hoped that Regina hadn't seen her father, King Leopold.

"Does it really matter who I saw, Snow?" Regina snapped.

**_'Just tell her, she won't press you on the matter, Regina. Trust me.'_** Emma's voice whispered through her mind again and left a calming aura throughout her body.

"I saw my father standing in front of the town line." Her tone was completely deadpan as she watched the brunette play with a bag of mini marshmallows that she intended to sprinkle on top of the hot chocolate before adding cream and cinnamon.

With a sympathetic smile and a nod, Mary Margaret continued to make four mugs of hot chocolate in silence.

**_'I told you.'_** Emma's voice was somewhat reassuring to Regina, knowing that only she could hear what Emma wanted to say out loud made it even more comforting.

This entire morning felt like an emotional roller coaster for Regina, and it was something she hadn't experienced in such a long time. It was also something she never really expected to experience again after Daniel's death. The butterflies in her stomach when she looked at the sheriff was enough to tell her that all of this - all of these feelings were real.

"Here you go," Mary Margaret said with a small smile as she handed over two mugs of hot chocolate to Emma and Regina, "you were the one to introduce me to cinnamon on the top of my cocoa, Regina. It's become a personal habit. And clearly an inheritance for some people." She laughed at her daughter who had picked up her mug and cradled it against her mouth, savouring every mouthful.

**_'You are a child, Miss Swan. I'm sure our son has more manners than you do.'_** Although Regina was being judgmental, Emma felt her amused tone and tilted the mug further so the cream on top would touch the tip of her nose before putting the mug back on the counter and raising her eyebrows at Regina. **_'My point exactly.'_** Regina rolled her eyes and let the corners of her mouth curl into a smile that was directed at the immature blonde.

"Okay, only one person has run to Archie's office so far and it was Ruby." David announced as he rejoined the women and accepted his own mug of hot cocoa from his wife.

"Is she okay? Who did she see?" Emma's eyes widened as she rubbed the cream off her face, ready to run to her friend.

"She's fine, Emma." Her father's words were in no way comforting. She wanted to run to Ruby almost in the same way she ran to Regina. "She saw Peter, he was the man she fell in love with back in the Enchanted Forest, but she also killed him." David had no real understanding of Ruby's story, only from what his wife had told him, and now he had to tell his daughter who was almost best friends with the woman. "She thought he was the wolf and tied him to a tree, only for her to suddenly change during wolf's time..." His voice trailed off, hoping that Emma wouldn't want him to complete the story.

"Did he speak to her?" Mary Margaret asked, still confused about the whole situation.

"Yeah." David sighed and dragged his fingers through his hair in frustration. "Peter told her that he forgave her and that he still loved her before he disappeared again."

Trying to picture the scene, the four of them remained silent long enough for them all to finish their hot cocoas and think about who else could return. Fortunately for Emma, she knew of no-one during her short time in the Enchanted Forest that could possibly come back to pay her a little visit. However, she spent her time thinking about all of the people her parents lost during their lives there. But what invaded her thoughts the most was Regina's past. The Evil Queen was infamous for murdering millions out of her hatred for Snow White. She knew that it wasn't just her father and Daniel - two deaths couldn't cause that much pain and destruction in someone's life.

"So," Emma started, wanting to end the constant silence and tense atmosphere throughout the apartment and wanting to draw herself away from her deep thoughts. "What are we going to do about this mess?"

Regina groaned and dragged her fingers through her hair as she waited for Charming to butt in and announce his perfect plans that would save everyone. Instead, he looked at his wife then at his daughter, expressing that he had no idea what to do in such a predicament. He had always been used to running a kingdom, not saving a town where everyone knew who everyone was. That was the hardest bit. He wasn't saving his 'subjects', this time he would be saving his friends and family from the possibility of a lot of emotional damage.

"We can't ignore them." Regina admitted, knowing that no one else was going to suggest anything and bit back a lump in her throat. "When I saw my father, he didn't react until I was on the ground. He didn't move until I tried to talk to him. If we ignore them, they're going to stay here and make all of this worse than it already is. Obviously this 'Peter' didn't move or react until Miss Lucas wanted him to talk to her, so he would have stayed here too if she hadn't spoken to him."

"Regina is right. I mean, her father didn't even move until she was on the floor and practically begging him to talk to her." Glancing over at Regina, Emma spotted her crumbling walls. She had never seen this woman so vulnerable - she had been a strong, powerful and independent woman, now she appeared to be a broken woman that was struggling to deal with everything thrown at her.

**_'I'm sorry.'_** Emma told Regina before continuing her defence.

"We need to get everyone to attempt to talk to their loved ones. It's going to hurt like a bitch, but it's only going to be for a week. Gold thinks he can rebuild a curse that will end all of this."

"Emma, it's not going to be as easy as that, dear." Mary Margaret sighed and placed her hand sympathetically on top of her daughter's. "People aren't going to want to do i-"

"But that's not the point!" Emma shouted and pushed herself off the chair to pace in the same way her mother had been when they first arrived at the apartment. "They're going to have to. It's only going to hurt people more if they just ignore them because they're not going to go away. They'll stay here and lurk around until Gold deals with the mess he's made."

The apartment's tendency to fall silent flew into full swing when Emma stopped ranting long enough to notice that all the colour had drained from her mother's face. It was obvious to Emma that Mary Margaret had seen someone, Emma was just too afraid to turn and get a glimpse of who it was. She kept her eyes firmly on Mary Margaret who had started to cry and simply fell into David's embrace but refused to take her eyes off of the person standing behind Emma.

A quiet whimper made Emma's eyes avert from her mother and towards Regina, who was unable to control the tears streaming down her face. In a matter of twelve hours, Emma had visibly watched Regina's wall fall and crumble into a million tiny pieces. In the year that she had known the woman, never did Emma expect to see this side of her.

**_'Who is it?'_** Emma mentally questioned the sobbing mayor.

**_'King Leopold.'_** The name sent shivers down Regina's spine as she thought about what happened. When she had instructed the genie to kill her husband, she was still being blinded by her mother's guidance to gain power before it had totally consumed her. There was a lot more to her past with Leopold than she cared to even think about.

Emma nodded her head and turned around to face her grandfather who was standing in front of the door to Mary Margaret's apartment. He stood completely still and stared directly at his daughter.

"Mom..." Emma muttered, holding her hand out to Mary Margaret, who obliged and walked across the room to take her daughter's hand. "Just say something." She gave her mother's soft hand a tight squeeze and waited.

"Hello, father." Mary Margaret whimpered, praying that it would soon be over and he would be gone. She held Emma's hand as tight as she possibly could in hope that she wouldn't leave her side. After her father's death she had never expected to see him again, but accepting that he was standing in front of her was even harder than accepting his death.

"Snow, my dear, I am so proud of you." King Leopold said after a long wait and several sobs from Mary Margaret. He smiled and placed a kiss on the top Mary Margaret's head and slowly started to walk towards Regina. "Regina, I forgive you. Take care of my family and my granddaughter." He smiled at the crying woman and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Mary Margaret's sobs escalated as soon as her father disappeared and without thinking, Emma pulled her mother into her chest and held her close. This was the first proper comforting hug that they had shared and to Emma it felt completely natural and honest. When Mary Margaret's breathing became regular and calmer, Emma loosened her grip around her mother and looked up to find Regina had left her seat in the kitchen.

**_'Are you okay? Where are you, Regina?'_ **

**_'I'm fine, just leave me alone, Miss Swan.'_ **

**_'Regina, you can't push me away like you have done with everyone else. We're in this together now, so you can't escape it. Where are you?'_** Emma pleaded, knowing how hurt Regina was just by seeing her break down in front of the former King. She waited a while for her short reply.

**_'Your mother's bathroom.'_ **

Letting go of her mother completely, Emma looked towards her father to ask him to comfort his wife, who understood completely and guided Mary Margaret towards one of the couches before wrapping her in his arms in complete silence. Sympathetically smiling at the scene, Emma left the two of them in peace to join Regina in the bathroom.

Emma gave the bathroom door a light tap, hoping that she wouldn't startle the broken woman behind the door. She didn't wait long enough for Regina to answer and pushed the door open slightly and slid inside, quickly shutting the door behind herself. Regina was sat on the side of the bath tub with her head in her hands.

"Regina..." Emma sighed and sat herself next to Regina and slowly draped her arm over her back. "It's going to be okay. We'll get through this, I promise."

"How can you say that?" Regina bellowed and stopped herself to change the volume of her voice. "You haven't watched people die, you haven't killed people and you don't know who could come back. I killed my father and Snow's father, what if everyone that I have killed comes back? It's going to kill _me_."

She dropped her head against Emma's chest and let the tears stream down her face. How could she do this? How could she let the Saviour see her so broken? Letting herself fall apart so easily was something she was never used to, nor did she ever want to get used to it. Emma sighed and closed her eyes before taking a big leap by pulling Regina closer to her body and placed her chin on the top of the brunette's head. To Emma's surprise, Regina allowed herself to be hugged and wrapped her own arms around the blonde's waist.

"It's not going to kill you," Emma whispered, "because I'm going to be right here for you. I promise."

Regina lifted her head enough to look directly into Emma's eyes. "Miss Swan, I-"

"Emma. Call me Emma." She interrupted with a slight smile, feeling impatient that Regina still couldn't use her first name.

"E... Emma," Regina stuttered, "thank you, but I don't think I can do this. And I can't let you be dragged down by all of this."

"Yes, you can do this. You've built up walls higher than anyone I've ever met, you've raised our son to be just as strong as you are, everything that you have done, you've done it because that's what you think is right, not because you think it's going hurt the most people. And you've done it all on your own. Let someone help you fight this time." Regina dropped her head at Emma's words, but Emma refused to let her brown eyes wander and lifted the brunette's chin with her index finger. "If you weren't strong enough, do you really think you would still be here? If you weren't strong enough, do you think that there would have been a curse? Regina, these people aren't going to hurt you and if any of them even try, I'm going to be the one by your side protecting you."

Regina smiled as a small tear ran down her face. No one had ever promised to protect her, no one had ever told her how strong she was and no one had ever held her in the way that Emma was. The longer she stared into the blonde's eyes, the more she thought that she was falling for her.

"I'm going to be here for you." Emma smiled and moved a piece of hair away from Regina's eye by tucking it behind her ear. "I will always be here for you, Regina."

The honesty in both Emma's tone and expression was enough to convince Regina. The only time she had ever been this easily persuaded was when Henry begged and pouted for something. Except this was something different; this time she felt her walls lowering enough for Emma to climb over, but still tall enough to stop anyone else from trying to join them. She let a small smile creep onto her lips, but it still didn't hide the fact that her head was telling her that this entire situation was wrong.

As she stared into the blonde's eyes, she couldn't stop herself from letting her eyes wander towards Emma's lips. Fueling her fire of fear, her heart won over by telling her how much she really wanted to feel the blonde's lips pressed against her own once again. The feeling demanded that there should be no distance between them. Giving into her temptations, she took a handful of Emma's two-day old tank in her fist and pulled her into a deep kiss.

From the moment the blonde's lips pressed against her own, Regina began to feel whole again. She began to feel the way she had when Daniel was alive. Holding Emma in her arms and having Emma's arms encasing her body made Regina feel secure; like she never wanted to let go. It was as if she was allowing herself to become lost inside the blonde's mouth.

A knock on the door made Emma pull away in fear of Regina's wrath. Instead of anger filling the woman's eyes, Emma saw the look of disappointment filling her blood-shot eyes to which Emma flashed a small smile before heading towards the bathroom door.

"Hey, your mom thinks that we should hold a town meeting at Granny's as soon as possible," David proposed as Emma opened the bathroom door. "I don't think we can handle the entire town going insane at a time like this. They need to be warned."

"Sure," Emma agreed, checking on Regina over her shoulder who was attempting to clean up the mascara that had run down her cheeks. "I need you do call everyone for me. Tell them we're going to hold the meeting in an hour and it's a town emergency. I'm going to make sure Regina's okay first. How's mom?"

"No problem," David smiled. "She's okay, it was just a little bit of a shock. Oh, and I called Henry, he's on his way over here."

Emma nodded and watched David walk away before closing the door to rejoin Regina, who had cleaned up her face and was standing boldly in the middle of the room in the way she had many times before their adventure to Neverland. Her face was completely expressionless as she watched Emma step towards her. A feeling in the pit of Emma's stomach overwhelmed her. It was the fear of rejection - a feeling that Emma had known far too well in her life to welcome it this time.

"This morning when you were getting dressed, Henry decided to tell me that he saw us kiss." Emma muttered as she played with her hands in front of her. "He also told me that you like me." She smiled and playfully poked Regina like a child.

She rolled her eyes and ignored the petty poke but smiled at the floor before catching Emma's gaze. "I hope you haven't scarred him for life, Miss Swan."

"Oh, so you're not going to admit that you like me, huh?" Emma quizzed and continued to advance towards Regina. "You can say it, you know. I already know you like me, I just want to hear you say it."

"You are the single most stubborn person I have ever met, Sheriff Swan." She let out a huge sigh and attempted to reach for the door handle before Emma stopped her.

"I know." Emma laughed, "But you're not leaving here until you say it, Madam Mayor."

**_'Fine, I... I like you.'_** Regina's voice rumbled through Emma's mind, making her blush at the words.

"I'm not buying it." She lied, feeling the butterflies in her stomach. "Say it out loud."

Regina rolled her eyes at the blonde and took a step forward, leaving a tiny gap between them. "I hate you." She gave a smug laugh before leaning forward to whisper into Emma's ear. "I kind of like you."

"Thank you." Emma grinned and spun on her heel to walk towards the door.

As Emma swung her arms in a strut, Regina caught her wrist, spun her around and almost pinned her to the bathroom door. **_'Just don't leave me, Swan.'_**

Emma smiled and gave Regina a light peck on her lips after a quick wink. ** _'Trust me, I wouldn't dare.'_**

The two left the bathroom awkwardly as they attempted to hide their blushing cheeks. Immediately, they found Henry sitting at the breakfast bar with a mug of hot chocolate and laughing with a red-eyed Mary Margaret. Whereas David was pacing the living area with a cell phone pressed to the side of his ear and occasionally cursing under his breath.

"Hey, kid!" Emma said as she took a seat beside Henry and tussled his hair. She looked up towards her mother whose smile had sunk as she spotted Regina reenter the room. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." Mary Margaret gave an unconvincing smile that told Emma not to mention it.

Obeying her mother's wishes, she nodded towards her father who was still conversing on the phone across the room. "Is everything okay with him?"

"Yeah, everyone is demanding an explanation before the meeting." She sighed and leaned on the counter in front of her daughter. "Apparently a 'town emergency' isn't a good enough reason for a compulsory meeting."

"I've got this." Regina rolled her eyes and stormed towards David. She ripped the cellphone out of his hands and took note of the person on the other end of the line. "Hello, Jefferson, it's Mayor Mills. We're holding a meeting at Granny's Diner at 1pm this afternoon. Attendance is mandatory... No, Jefferson, I'm not telling you what the meeting is about over the phone... because that's what the meeting is for... I'll see you there, goodbye." She hung up the phone and threw it to David who was standing behind her in complete shock. "That's how you do it, Charming."

Regina flashed a smug smile and returned to the breakfast bar to place a kiss on the top of Henry's head, who was eager to know what his mothers and grandparents had been racking their brains about. "So, what did the earthquake cause?"


	4. Meeting at Granny's

**CHAPTER FOUR - Meeting at Granny's**

_Earlier that morning;_

_Granny had instructed Ruby to drive across town to pick up a few things from the grocery store before she turned up for work that morning. After the earthquake at 7am, Granny's 'intuition' told her that everyone would be fleeing to the diner at some point._

_Ruby hated the idea of having to work on a Saturday, but after having her date being cancelled, she knew that she had nothing better to do with her entire day. Maybe it would take her mind away from thinking about the jackass that stood her up._

_Her journey to the store was a lot shorter than she had anticipated. She had arrived within five minutes of setting off and had shopped in almost under three minutes, so she decided to dawdle for a little while to give herself some alone time before returning to spend almost twelve hours running around the little diner and seeing the same faces all day._

_As she sat in her car outside of the store with her music playing quietly, Ruby had some time to think about the direction in which her life was going. She had no boyfriend, barely any friends (or at least barely any friends that wanted to hang out at the Rabbit Hole occasionally), her job was only secure because her grandmother was her boss, she had no real-world qualifications and no money. The thought of how bad her life had got made Ruby want to break-down out of frustration. That was until she saw him standing there._

_Peter._

_He stood directly in front of her car and stared at her. Not blinking, not moving and not even acknowledging what was going on around him._

_"You can't be here." Ruby whispered to herself, hoping that Peter would hear and run towards her._

_He continued to stare at her as she stepped out of her car and walked towards him. He was dressed the same way that he had been on the night she killed him. Except this time, there was no blood. He was completely clean of any injuries. He looked alive and completely perfect._

_"How are you here?" She asked as she got closer to the only man she ever truly loved. She raised her hand to place it on his cheek, only for it to fall through his body as if he were a ghost. Ruby whimpered and gave in to the tears that were building in her eyes. "I am so sorry, Peter. I still love you."_

_The long pause of silence killed Ruby. She wanted nothing more than to fall onto the floor and cry, but that was when he touched her. Peter had reached his hand out and placed it on Ruby's cheek, the same way she had tried with him, but this time, she could feel him. She could feel the warmth in his touch and quivered under his hand._

_"I love and forgive you, Red." He smiled at the sobbing brunette and stroked her face with his thumb. "But there is someone else out there for you that will trust you as much as I did. Find them."_

_Within moments of ending what he was saying, Peter disappeared into nothing. The weight and warmth from his hand faded fast and eventually felt like a slap to the side of Ruby's cheek._

*#*#*#*

Granny's diner was always busy, but with today's urgent town meeting, there was practically no room between any of the town's folk. With everyone so tightly packed together like sardines in a can, there was no question in whether or not the diner would be filled with agitated and rowdy people by the time the sheriff arrived. From the moment the seven dwarves trailed in together with the town's rather large nunnery, Granny instantly began regretting her decision to agree that the Charmings could have use of her rather small diner for an hour. What was wrong with the perfectly good Town Hall?

"The sheriff will be here soon people, would you please calm down?!" Granny shouted as her patrons began to protest about their wait and discomfort. "I swear to god, Leroy, if you don't get down from that table I'm going to remove the beer tap."

Leroy had been standing on a table at the back of the diner and shouting prompts at the people below him, almost causing a riot in the little tiny diner. But at the sound of the possibility that Granny could remove the only thing that made him happy in this world, made him dive onto the floor and under the table. The terrified look on his face made Granny grin with joy.

Ruby, on the other hand, was sat upon the bar and staring into a distant world, completely oblivious to the raucous around her. She couldn't help but think of what she had seen earlier that morning, and Dr. Hopper wasn't much help. All she wanted was for Emma to burst through the front door and explain what the hell was going on in their small town of Storybrooke. The last thing she needed was false sympathy from Dr. Whale, which was what she got.

"Hey, Ruby." He said as he pushed his way through the crowd. "How are you?" He placed his hand onto Ruby's exposed thigh, giving her a sympathetic look after giving her chest the same stare.

"Piss off, Whale." She rolled her eyes and brushed his hand off her thigh, feeling the sudden urge to hit him. "I don't need your false sympathy and so-called 'friendly advice'. And I really don't need you trying to get me into your bed, again."

The smug smile on his face fell and he knew that it was his call to leave her alone. To Whale, Ruby was easy to manipulate. He had never failed to woo her into both his arms and his bed, but this time, he knew that something was up with her, he just didn't know what. Before leaving her to her thoughts, he contemplated actually asking her what was going on, but decided against it when he spotted Leroy glaring at him from underneath the table.

It had taken Ruby such a long time to convince herself that Peter's death was not her fault, but on his return, her entire recovery crashed and burned in front of her eyes. She knew that she couldn't hide the fact that she was still madly in love with him, yet she couldn't re-grasp the concept that he was dead and he was never coming back, even if he did appear in front of her earlier in the morning.

Even whilst living for twenty-eight years as her cursed self, Ruby knew that her body and soul was looking for someone like Peter, even though she didn't know he existed. She merely prayed that Emma had the answer and possibly a way to bring him back for good, but not in the way that Daniel returned to Regina.

*#*#*#*

Back at Mary Margaret's apartment, Emma was attempting to explain to Henry what had happened at the town line and in the apartment before his arrival. His confusion only grew when she attempted to explain why she thought the previously departed were returning with little messages.

"But Emma, if they're still dead, how can they talk?" Henry would ask whenever Emma told him that these people had spoken to their loved ones, to which she would shrug her shoulders and shake her head.

Regina sat with Emma and Henry, constantly tuning in and out of their conversation and staring into a distant land. This entire morning had been too much for her to handle. In the short morning had she kissed Emma Swan three times, spoken to her long dead father, spoken to her long dead husband and broke down into tears in front of both Emma, Snow, and Charming. Twice in some cases. Her emotionally drowning sensations continued and became even worse every time she looked at Emma, yet she couldn't bring herself to look away from the blonde. Regina had never really looked at Emma in an appreciative way, until now. The blonde's golden curls framed her face and the way the light hit her cheeks really emphasised how beautiful she actually was. Even if she did have her mother's chin and her father's charming assets. Emma Swan was a picture of pure beauty.

Watching Emma in complete awe, Regina hadn't realised how obvious her stare had been until she felt her jaw drop a little when Emma smiled at their son. She hated to admit it, but Regina was rather rapidly falling in love with the daughter of the woman who ruined her life. But what she failed to realise was that she had already been in love with Emma long before their first kiss.

"Okay, we're going to be late." David said as he threw on his coat and ushered everyone towards the front door. "Granny is going to kill us. Everyone into my truck." David unlocked the truck as soon as they were outside and forced Henry, Emma and Regina into the back of the truck while he and Mary Margaret sat alongside each other in the front.

"I cannot believe you've made me do this, Miss Swan." Regina huffed as she felt Henry's elbow accidentally dig into her right side and felt Emma's entire side pushed against her own. "Henry, sweetie, you really need to move your elbow." Feeling only that discomfort coming from her son.

Henry chuckled with embarrassment and threw his arms out in front of him and squeezed them awkwardly in front of his chest. Regina gave him an appreciative smile in thanks before staring off into the distance out of the front window.

' ** _What if everyone thinks I caused all of this?'_** Regina looked over at Emma with a nervous demeanour.

**_'Then I'm going to stand up to them and tell everyone that you didn't. I said trust me, didn't I?'_** Emma took Regina's hand in her own, giving it a light squeeze before letting go as fast as she could. Pissing Regina off would be the last thing she wanted to do in the damned truck.

To Emma's surprise, Regina followed her hand and took it in her own before wedging their intertwined fingers into the tiny gap between their legs to hide their affection from the rest of the passengers. Emma gave her a slight smile and held the dark haired woman's hand as tight as she could, never wanting to let go.

As they pulled up outside of Granny's diner, Regina's grip on Emma's hand became stronger, making Emma lose feeling in her fingers for a little while. Although the woman had a fiery expression written all over her face, Emma couldn't deny that Regina was terrified.

**_'Don't be so scared, Regina. You've done nothing wrong.'_** Emma attempted to reassure the woman holding her hand but to no avail.

**_'Miss Swan, I think we might have... I think we broke the curse.'_ **

The look of utter shock struck Emma's face, leaving her completely speechless and staring at Regina. **_'What do you mean?'_**

**_'I don't know. Forget I said it, Miss Swan.'_ **

Emma rolled her eyes and swung open the door next to her as soon as the truck came to a halt. Once she had leapt from the truck, she returned and held out her hand to Regina to help her down, which was surprisingly taken without hesitation. Her eyes flashed with a small glimmer of gratitude before they returned into an emotionless state, along with her facial expression.

Emma led the group into heaving diner, barging through the crowd with Regina on her heels holding Henry's hand and the Charmings struggling to keep up behind them. As soon as Emma made it to the bar where Ruby was sat, she let out a sigh of relief, thankful that no one had attempted to attack Regina just yet.

"Hey Rubes," Emma gave a sad smile and placed her hand on Ruby's knee. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm not." Ruby replied bluntly in hope that the less Emma spoke to her, the sooner she would understand why she saw and spoke to Peter that morning. Not knowing why she saw him was eating her live.

Emma sighed in understanding and pulled out a chair from one of the tables that had been submerged in the crowd and placed it in front of the bar before standing on it and letting out a loud wolf whistle. The noise in the diner dropped to complete silence in seconds, causing everyone to turn and face Emma in anticipation.

"Okay, so, um," Emma stuttered as she looked around the diner to see every single pair of eyes in the room solidly on her. "I just wanted to thank you all for coming here on such short notice..."

"Get on with it, sister!" Leroy shouted, still sat underneath the table.

"Thanks for that, Leroy." Emma shot him a glare and gained a little confidence, knowing that people were actually here to listen to her.

"As you all know, Storybrooke experienced an earthquake this morning, but it wasn't an average earthquake. It was an earthquake that was caused by true love's kiss." Murmurs filled the diner and stares were directed towards David and Mary Margaret, who were looking at each other in disbelief. "It wasn't David and Mary Margaret, it was someone else. We don't know who, but that's not the problem. The problem is that when this kiss happened, it broke a curse. A curse that was cast by Mr. Gold. This curse was cast to prevent people from attempting to resurrect their loved ones after an attempt was made a little while ago."

**_'Get ready for it, sheriff.'_ **

Emma shook off Regina's telepathic muttering and waited for a reaction. To her surprise, there was nothing. No one said a word. It was almost as if they were too afraid to stand up to Regina or even accuse her of something.

**_'I'm waiting, your majesty.'_ **

"Now that the curse has been broken, there may be be a few side effects for at least a week. Some people have already witnessed these side effects. This is going to be an incredibly trying time for all of us, so we're going to need to work together through all of this." Emma attempted or reassure the crowd, but to her dismay, everyone merely stared at her in horror.

"What are the side effects, sheriff?" An elderly gentleman shouted from the back of the diner.

"Dead people." The deadpan tone of Emma's voice made her mother squeeze her eyes shut tight and rub her temples in circular motions in attempt to calm herself from her daughter's idiotic choice of words. "Sorry. The people that were killed in the Enchanted Forest - your friends, families, loved ones - there is a possibility that they will return. To my knowledge so far, there has already been three returns. So I need all of you to think, have you seen someone today that you know to be dead?" Emma glanced around to diner to find no one willing to share anything. "Okay, good. So, Mayor Mills and I have already seen two, to which we quickly learned that these reappearances _cannot_ be ignored. You have to talk to these people, or at least be willing to talk to them. Otherwise they're going to stand there and do nothing and that's only going to make it worse for yourselves. It may hurt to see a departed loved one, but you're going to have to. At the moment, we know that they're only saying a few short sentences before disappearing again."

**_'Gold has just walked in. Don't tread on his toes, Miss Swan.'_ **

Regina was right, Mr. Gold had entered the diner with Belle on his arm and a smug look on his face. It was a look that made Emma want to punch him every time she saw it plastered on his face. No one else seemed to notice his entrance, but it was something that made Emma worry. Having a huge fight break out in the middle of the diner was the last thing she wanted to deal with today.

"Does anyone have any questions?" She hoped that no one would. She wanted everyone to accept the fact that they would see some familiar faces of dead relatives for the next week.

"I do, dearie." Mr. Gold projected before anyone else had the chance to even think about anything they wanted to ask. "Who are the love birds that just so happened to break my little curse?"

"Sorry, Gold, but we don't know."

"Oh, I think you do." He grinned and raised an eyebrow at the blonde standing above everyone in the room. "I think you know exactly who broke the curse. I'm sure you've already told all of these... people that it wasn't your parents, have you not?"

"Well, yeah. That's because it wasn't, Gold." Emma muttered in a matter-of-fact tone. "Because only the first kiss between a couple of true love can break a curse, apart from a sleeping curse. Surely you know that one."

"Just take some time to think about what you just said, dearie, and then come find me." Gold said, looking between Emma and Regina with a large smile on his face. "I know for a fact that I will see you soon."

With a loud cackle, Mr. Gold spun on his heel and guided himself and Belle out of the diner, leaving an awkward presence among the entire town's folk, who simply looked back at Emma with raised eyebrows.

**_'We need to talk, Regina.'_ **

"So, does anyone have any more questions?" The only thing Emma could do was distract the room from Gold's words. If they were confused, she knew they would immediately ask what in the hell he was talking about.

"When will this end?" Someone shouted.

"Mr. Gold says that he is going to rewrite the curse, but with a different twist so it won't break again. He thinks that it's going to take at least a week to get it completed. Anyone else?"

"What happened that caused Gold to cast the curse in the first place?" Another heckled.

"I don't have the right to discuss the matter, I'm afraid." Emma sighed and looked towards Regina, who was biting her lip and trying to remain as fierce as she had been before the question had been asked. "Does anyone have any more questions?" The diner remained silent, which pleased Emma to no end. "Okay, thanks for coming. Just remember that you can't ignore these people. If anyone has any trouble, please call either the station, myself, or my deputy and we'll help in any way we can. Dr. Hopper has extended his working hours just in case anyone needs any help through this. It's going to be tough, but like everything else, we can pull through."

Emma smiled at the crowd and watched them disperse a little before jumping off the chair and rejoining her family on the floor. Regina stood at her side, completely lost in thought. Seeing the blank facial expression on Regina's face made Emma's heart ache. She had been completely unaware of how much she was attracted to the Mayor until they returned from Neverland. However, she did admit to herself that she had a little girl crush on the woman a long while beforehand, but never really intended to act upon it.

"We really need to discuss your public speaking issues, dear." Mary Margaret said as soon as the five of them were alone.

Emma rolled her eyes at her mother like a disobedient child, making the corners of Regina's mouth curl. The sassiness that Emma had when it came to her mother was something Regina had always secretly loved, even if she did hate to admit it, because the thought of loving Emma Swan either for herself or her personality traits was ridiculous, wasn't it?

**_'I thought you did well under the given circumstances.'_ **

"Hey, Regina, could I have a word with you out the back, please?" Emma asked, hoping that her parents would buy Henry a milkshake and distract him while the two of them talked in the diner's restroom.

Regina nodded and gestured for Emma to lead. The blonde guided them to the bathroom and locked the door to the ladies room behind them.

"Are you still thinking that _we_ broke the curse, Regina?" Emma's whisper was barely understandable, but with the look of worry written all over her face it was obvious to Regina what she had asked, even if she had missed a couple of words.

"Unfortunately so, Miss Swan." Regina said, dropping her head a little, attempting to hide the growing attraction that she had for Emma Swan. "What do you propose we do?"

"I don't know." Emma shrugged. She could feel her cheeks blushing. She knew that there was no point in admitting to Regina that she had heard the woman confess to herself that she was falling in love with her.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this." Regina sighed and took a step away from Emma. "But I think I felt something between us - when we kissed, I mean. I have no idea what it was and I can't tell if its right, but I felt someth-"

Regina's rambling was cut off by the forceful kiss that Emma had sprung upon her lips. Feeling her lips grinding against Emma's once again made Regina's knees feel weak. Steadying herself, she took a handful of Emma's tight shirt and pulled her towards her body, wrapping her arms tightly around the blonde's neck and shoulders. Emma slid her tongue across Regina's bottom lip as if to request an entry, which was granted almost immediately. Their tongues swirled and fought inside their mouths, hands wandered and limbs became tangled.

Neither wanted to let the other go, feeling too afraid to lose them. When Regina began to feel breathless, she ran her finger down Emma's jaw until she reached her chin and slowly pulled her own lips away from the blonde's. As she emerged from the kiss, Regina couldn't help but smile at Emma who was showing no signs of wanting to let go of her waist. And honestly, the connection between the two of them was something Regina never wanted to let go of.

"So, what are we going to do?" Emma asked as she regretfully began moving her hands from Regina's waist down to the brunette's hips.

"We are not going to Gold, if that's what you're thinking." Regina pulled away from Emma's hold and ran her fingers through her hair in confusion. "Miss Swan, I don't think we can do this. It may feel right, but it is incredibly wrong."

The look of disappointment and abandonment hit Emma's face faster than the speed of light and it simply broke Regina's heart. She was falling for the idiotic blonde faster than she had fallen for anyone, and that scared her more than anything. Fighting away the nagging desires to cradle Emma in her arms, Regina folded them across her chest and wandered her eyes across the bathroom.

"So what do you suggest then, Madam Mayor?" Emma tried to hide how fast she had been hurt with such a deadpan question and leaned on one leg in impatience.

"We merely forget, I suppose." Regina shrugged and walked towards the bathroom door before stopping when Emma took hold of her wrist.

"Regina, wait," Emma sighed, "We can't just forget all of this."

"Watch me, Miss Swan."

Regina ripped her hand from Emma's grasp and stalked out of the bathroom faster than Emma could protest. She was absolutely terrified. All she wanted to do was to run back into the bathroom and hold Emma close. Within a matter of hours, Regina had felt Emma become her rock. She was keeping her safe and grounded in this series of events and Regina had never felt so comfortable.

It was like she was seeing Emma again for the first time and it was love at first sight.

As she returned to the front of the diner, she spotted Henry sitting in a booth and laughing with his grandparents. Just as much as she hated to break them up, Regina felt a terrible need to be as far away from Emma as she possibly could, and right now, that meant taking Henry with her. She needed to be far enough that she couldn't run straight to her.

"Henry, are you ready to go home?" She asked as she approached the table.

"Sure." Henry sighed and took one last slurp of the milkshake that his grandparents had bought for him. "Is Emma coming with us?"

"No, Henry." Regina said sternly, feeling the butterflies in her stomach at the sound of the blonde's name.

"Let me take you," Charming offered after looking at his wife for approval. "It looks as if it's about to rain and my truck is just outside. I insist."

"Thank you, David." Regina sighed in defeat, not willing to argue with him and left the diner to wait for her son to join her.

Inside the diner, Emma still hadn't left the bathroom. She stood in front of the mirror trying to battle her conflicting emotions. She was falling in love with Regina Mills a lot faster than she had been before Neverland, but she also felt betrayed as her hatred for the woman built as fast as her love. The thoughts and emotions running through her head made her dizzy and physically sick. This, she realised, was why she built her walls up.

"Hey, sweetie," Mary Margaret interrupted and closed the bathroom door behind herself. "Is everything okay?" She waited for Emma's reply, but to no avail. "When Regina left I expected you to come out too. Your father has taken her and Henry home."

Emma nodded and fought away her frustrated tears that were filling and burning her eyes.

"Oh, Emma, honey." Mary Margaret sighed and wrapped her arms around her daughter who broke down on contact and almost melted into their embrace. "What happened?"

With Mary Margaret's arms wrapped around her and her hand smoothing her hair, Emma felt at home. She felt loved. She felt wanted. It was the first time she had ever let herself break down in front of her mother, but in this position, she didn't want anyone else. This is what daughters did, right? Break down in front of their mothers.

"I'm just so confused and conflicted and... Ugh." Emma forced through her tears and sobs. "I just don't know what to do, mom."

The sound of Emma calling her 'mom' made Mary Margaret's heart skip a beat or two. She would never get used to hearing her daughter saying the word and every time she said it, she knew that she meant it even more than the first. She pulled herself away from Emma's grasp and held the blonde in front of her to cup her daughter's pale white cheeks.

"Emma, dear, you have to tell me what happened before I can help you." Mary Margaret smiled and wiped away one of Emma's tears with her thumb.

Emma nodded and closed her eyes to calm herself before opening her mouth. "I think I'm in love with Regina." She muttered quickly and got caught in her mother's icy glare. She knew she needed to explain, what she was trying to tell Mary Margaret, but no words were being formed in Emma's mouth. "Just don't look at me like that. It was completely unintentional."

"Emma..."

"No, let me just..." Emma cut her off, unsure why she wanted to spill her guts about someone she had fallen in love with. Especially to her mother when it was Regina who she had fallen for. "When I first met Regina I thought she was beautiful, I thought she would be one of those little 'girl crushes', you know? And during our first conversation, she may have been cold, but I knew that she understood me. I could see myself in her a lot. Somewhere in that black heart of hers knew what I was trying to tell her. Even when she got me arrested and did all of those things, I knew it was because of the wall she's built. She was trying to protect herself because of the whole 'love is weakness' crap that Cora drilled into her as a kid. I only ever wanted to be the woman's friend. I wanted to get to know her and Henry. It was never my intention to fall head over heels for her!"

Emma hadn't realised how much she had raised her voice, or how much more she was crying. She could feel Mary Margaret trying to catch each tear with her thumbs, but failed miserably and pulled Emma into another hug instead.

"I hadn't realised that I was properly in love with her until we were in Neverland. I even considered my love for her to be conditional. I thought I loved her because of Henry and the way she had raised him, but even when we're alone and talking about other things I feel completely smitten for her." Emma took another deep breath and waited until she felt right to continue. "I didn't come home last night because Regina and I fell asleep on her couch together. Nothing happened, but this morning she kissed me."

It took a little while for the words to sink in for Mary Margaret, but when they did she swiftly moved her hands from Emma's face and stared at her in utter confusion. "She kissed you?!" She shouted, not caring whether or not anyone else in the diner could hear her. "Emma, _why_ did she kiss _you_?"

"We were flirting and I kind of asked her to." Emma had stopped crying now. Her fear built and regret filled her stomach. This was why she never wanted to tell anyone anything. "As soon as we pulled away, Henry ran in to tell us about the earthquake."

"Wait, what?" Mary Margaret's shout turned instantly into a whisper. "Emma, does she love you?"

"I _think_ so." Emma's uncertainty nerved her mother even more. "She's kissed me again since this morning and Henry told me that she _likes_ me. But if she loved me, she wouldn't have run away, would she?"

"I'm really going to hate myself for saying this, but I'm going to be completely honest with you." Mary Margaret stalled. She knew that she had to tell Emma, but it was something that she didn't want to hear coming from her own mouth, or anyone else's for that matter. "Emma, I think the two of you broke the curse. Your kiss, true loves kiss, it only happens between true loves...and...I think that you and Regina are true loves. It's the only thing that makes sense! True love is twisted and ridiculous, but it's true and destined."

The tears started to build in her own eyes this time. At the thought of her daughter being the true love of the Evil Queen made her stomach knot and the nausea kick in. It completely made sense in a sick and twisted poetic way - the child of something so pure had a true love that was practically the element of all things evil.

"I'm sorry." Emma sighed and pulled her mother back into a hug. It was their only safety net from falling into complete breakdowns. "Mom, what do I do?"

"Go see her." She tried to hide the tears streaming down her face in Emma's blonde ringlets and calmed herself and her daughter by drawing circles on Emma's back with her finger. "Go see her, Emma. If she loves you and you love her, you will always find each other and end up running back into each other's arms. I promise. Just don't lose her to her own self-hatred."

Emma smiled into her mother's neck and held on for a little longer, hoping that the tears would stop for both of them by the time she left to find Regina. "Thank you." Emma continued to smile. Her entire body felt warm, almost as if her mother's hug was like a protection shield from everything, even the cold. She felt safe for the first time in her life. "Mom, could you do me one thing?"

Mary Margaret nodded as they separated and wiped the tears from her eyes and cheeks. "Of course."

"I need you to promise that this will say between the two of us." Emma almost began to beg as she watched her mother contemplated the request. "Just until I know what's going on."

Mary Margaret gave a wry smile and watched her daughter leave the bathroom in a hurry. It broke her heart to see her this way, and it hurt even more to know that Regina Mills was her daughter's true love. There was nothing she could do to stop it and there was no way she would go to see Mr. Gold to deal with this situation, especially after what he gave to her to ' _forget_ ' Charming whilst in the Enchanted Forest. If she couldn't pry them apart herself, there would be nothing she could do. All she wanted was to see Emma living in happiness, but the hunch held over Mary Margaret fought to tell her that Regina could never give Emma such happiness. She prayed that Regina would break Emma's heart in two, so Emma would have no choice but to find someone else.


	5. Unwanted Visitors

**CHAPTER FIVE - Unwanted Visitors**

_"Go see her, Emma. If she loves you and you love her, you will always find each other and end up running back into each other's arms. I promise."_

The car ride back to the mansion was painful, to say the least. Regina had let Henry ride shotgun with his grandfather while she sat alone in the backseat, constantly thinking about the infuriating blonde that she had left alone in the bathrooms at the diner. The more she tried to forget about her, the more she invaded her mind. Neither did it help that everything Henry and David did reminded her of Emma; the way Henry would suddenly become over excited over something simple, and the way David would laugh and give a charming and witty response. For Regina, it was seemingly impossible to switch off and forget her ever growing feelings for Emma Swan.

As much as she wanted to allow herself to fall in love with Emma, her head contradicted her heart once again by telling her it was wrong. Her heart knew that it was right, but her head told her that it would only cause trouble. Maybe she was falling in love with Emma because she was Henry's birth mother, or maybe she was falling for her because she was the only one to both stand up to her and defend her at the same time. But either way, that would be ridiculous.

Letting her mind wander in the backseat, Regina found herself thinking about the kisses she had shared with Emma that morning. The image of Emma's lips constantly flashed into her mind, and how soft and passionate they were as she let them grind against her own. She couldn't help but smile at the way her lips tingled when she thought about the blonde.

"Hey, mom," Henry said, dragging Regina directly from her thoughts with his concerned tone. As she looked up, she realised she was home. But something was different. "Who are those people in our yard?"

Regina squinted her eyes, trying to look into her front yard to see exactly what her son saw. It was full of people dressed in the same black armour she required her guards to wear in her palace whilst she reigned in the Enchanted Forest. Her stomach dropped, knowing that they were all there for her. The more she watched, the sooner she understood why they were there. They were the people she had killed after they had misconducted a deed under her wishes.

"David, I need you to take Henry home for a little while." Regina forced herself to say the words, but she knew that's the only place that Henry would be safe. "I have something to deal with."

David nodded as she swung herself out of the truck and onto the sidewalk. She shut the door behind herself and waited for David to drive away before opening the gate to her filled yard. The lump in her throat felt like a golf ball had been lodged there for a while. She didn't have the strength to look at them as she ran towards her front door and threw herself inside.

She thought that if she ignored them they would stay there until Gold had come up with another curse. As much as she would hate being locked up in the house for an entire week, the last thing she would want to do would be to stand on her porch and listen to hundreds of people spit horrible comments towards her.

Standing with her back against the door, Regina couldn't help but let herself slide onto the floor. Her heart raced and her eyes filled with tears. Her head spun and the lump in her throat only grew. All of this had happened because of Emma Swan. If it hadn't been for the infuriating blonde, her walls would still be sky high, her emotions would be hidden and she most certainly wouldn't have hundreds of dead people standing in her front yard. The last thing she wanted was for Emma to turn up and pity her, but doing what her heart always did, it contradicted her. Her heart told her that the only thing she really wanted was for Emma to turn up, pity her and hold her close.

"Love is weakness, Regina." She muttered to herself whilst trying to hold back a stream of tears. "You cannot be in love with the woman who decided that it would be okay to invade your home and your mouth within twelve hours." But as stupid as it sounded to her, Regina knew that she had always had underlying feelings for the blonde, she just never intended to act upon them in the way that she had. She had expected them to fade over time, not grow as much as they did.

Regina's mind was acting like a vicious circle; she would think about the crowd outside her house and hope for Emma to save her, then her mind would wander towards Emma and how much she was falling for her, then she would think about how fast her walls were crumbling because of Emma, then finally her mind would return to the crowd outside. It was a circle she couldn't escape from and it was simply eating her alive. How could she fall so fast? How could she let Emma Swan, of all people, break her and her walls, which she prized so dearly.

From the moment they had met, Regina felt something inside her telling her that she needed to hate the woman. She needed to hate her, push her away and avoid her at all costs; not fall in love with her. _How can you hate someone if you never really had feelings for them, Regina?_ She asked herself in a way that was filled with self-disgust.

The longer she sat on the floor, the more Regina knew that she had to get on with her life and attempt to ignore what was happening outside and in her heart. She pushed herself off the door, threw her blazer onto the coat stand and wandered aimlessly into the kitchen to find something to do - something to take her mind off it all.

As she arrived in the kitchen, Regina immediately began to regret her decision when she laid her eyes on the photograph on the kitchen table. The photo showed herself smiling while hugging Henry, who was also being hugged by his birth mother. It was taken after their home coming from Neverland. Secretly, it was one of her favourite photos. She had never looked so happy, and for it to have been with the two people in this world that she loved the most made it even more special to her. Every time she looked at the photo it made her feel warm - like she was looking at her family. Her complete family that she fought hard to find, even if the relationship she wanted with Emma was never going to happen.

She moved the photo into the living room to avoid any distractions and returned to the kitchen to make herself a fresh pot of coffee. As the coffee brewed, she sat at the counter and found herself running her fingers through her hair in utter frustration with burning tears still streaming down her face. If this was love and heartbreak, it was most certainly something she didn't want to pursue. Mourning Daniel never hurt this much.

With the sound of the coffee machine filling her ears, Regina's mind rested and became clear - that was until a loud knock on her front door made her jump.

"Do I ever get any time to myself?" She grumbled and crossed the kitchen before stopping herself. Not knowing what to expect when she opened her front door, she decided against it and stood in the hallway, waiting for something to happen.

"Regina it's me, Dr. Hopper." Said the voice behind the door. "Can I come in? I know you always keep your door unlocked."

Without waiting for an approval, Archie quickly opened the door and slid through the small gap before closing the door quickly behind him. Regina knit her brow and glared at the doctor standing before her.

"I was walking Pongo and I saw your yard, so I took him home and drove straight here." He muttered, playing with his hands and tried not to make eye contact with the powerful and damaged woman before him. "Do you need to talk?"

"Do I look like a need to talk?" She snapped and placed her hands on her hips. Talking to this bug was definitely on her list of things she didn't want to do today.

"Actually, Regina, you're crying." He pointed out, trying not to sound too matter-of-factly. "So, yeah, I do think you look like you need to talk. Can we?"

Slowly raising her hand to her cheek, Regina felt the tears hitting her fingertips. The tears formed and fell like they were never going to stop. With the overwhelming day she had already had, she couldn't help but feel victimised in this situation; firstly she saw her father, then her late husband and now there was over a hundred of her guards that she had killed during her reign. With raging emotions for the blonde and the distressing feeling of fear that swept over her each time she thought about going outside or even answering her front door, Regina really wasn't surprised that her body had completely failed her in remaining strong and powerful.

She nodded towards the psychiatrist and signaled for him to follow her into her study and took a seat. Even though her tears had eased, the feeling of fear clashing with love was pulling Regina down and scaring her into comparing these feelings with her feelings before and after Daniel's death. They were no different; this time, however, the person she had fallen in love with was still alive and these feelings were a hell of alot stronger.

"Okay, Regina, I want you to tell me everything that happened before the curse broke this morning." Archie said in a soothing tone as he sat a seat away from the brunette.

"Is this a doctor-patient conversation, or something else, Dr. Hopper?"

"Whatever you want it to be, Regina. Just so you know that you can put your faith in me that whatever is said here, this afternoon, is between us."

Regina nodded and let out a huge sigh before thinking about how to start. "Well, you could probably say it started when I invited Emma over for dinner with myself and Henry last night. We sat and talked civilly for a long time as we waited for Henry to arrive home from his after school activities. We didn't fight until after our food, when Henry was watching some television. We simply tormented each other and admittedly, it ended in a few laughs and a giant cupcake." As she remembered the fight, smiling at how immature they had both acted.

"So far so good, Regina." Dr. Hopper said as he watched Regina's smile slowly fade. "Did Henry see your fight?"

"Only a little bit of it. He wasn't entirely happy about the fact that we were using magic, but as soon as he saw the gigantic cupcake that Miss Swan was cradling in her arms, he didn't care."

Dr. Hopper nodded as an indication for Regina to continue her story. "After the fight, Emma and I decided to join Henry in front of the television, but he was asleep, so I sent him up to bed. Emma and I watched the television for a short while before to two of us were completely asleep on my couch." Regina blushed at the shocked expression on Archie's face before continuing. "Henry woke us up this morning. I acted a little irrational about the situation we found ourselves, but it didn't really phase her as she sat with a smug look on her face. Anyway, I retreated into the kitchen to make Henry some breakfast and Emma followed. We flirted a little... _andikissedher_."

Although Regina ended her sentence as fast as she could, Archie caught every single word and unprofessionally let his jaw drop.

"And...Um..." He stuttered, "How do you feel about the kiss?"

"I feel a lot better than I should!" Regina admitted. "In a way, I'm glad it happened, but I'm also terrified that it did. I've been experiencing all sorts of emotions that I had hidden away and I'm becoming far too vulnerable far too fast. If Emma and I hadn't kissed I never would have been this vulnerable. I think we both know what would have happened with that lot outside if we didn't kiss."

"The curse wouldn't have broken." Archie said, surprising himself. "As much you would hate to hear this, Madam Mayor, the way you look at Miss Swan is something that cannot be overlooked. When she isn't looking, you look at her as if she is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen."

"I do not!" Regina yelled with offence, before calming herself and realising that what Archie had said was probably true. "Is it really obvious?"

Regina stared at the doctor, who held her gaze and nodded. "And obviously Emma feels the same about you, otherwise the curse wouldn't have broken and we wouldn't be having this conversation. I just didn't expect it to have happened so fast."

"Neither did I, Dr. Hopper," Regina sighed, "neither did I."

"Where is Emma now?"

"I left her and Henry at the diner with the Charmings." She rolled her eyes and slumped her elbows onto the table in the same manner that Emma would have. "I told her we needed to forget about all of this and get on with or lives."

"Did you mean what you said?"

"At the time? I'm not sure." Regina sighed once again, "But now? Not in the slightest. I was scared and I didn't want to hurt her, but clearly I hurt her more by leaving her."

"Do you love her, Regina?" Archie asked after a long pause and prepared himself for a blow.

"Yes."

*#*#*#

After her conversation with her mother, Emma left the diner as fast as she could, praying that Regina would stop shutting herself off and actually listen to the fact that Emma wanted to be around her and help her, no matter what it cost her. Seeing Regina hurt or even momentarily vulnerable made Emma feel guilty that she wasn't there to help her, and now that she knew that Regina actually liked her made the guilt build up inside Emma more than ever.

For the first time ever, Mary Margaret was right - Emma needed to see Regina. She needed to tell Regina that she didn't care about any consequences that could come with any sort of relationship between them. She needed Regina to know and fully understand that she was in love with her. But there was something they both needed to understand - true love's kiss doesn't lie. Neither Emma or Regina were willing to believe it, even if both of them craved the idea that their kiss was true.

Every time Emma headed towards Mifflin Street her heart would skip in knowing that she was soon to see Regina, but this time, her chest felt tight and butterflies grew and fluttered in her stomach, making her feel physically sick with nerves. All she hoped was that Regina would forget about what she said in the diner and actually allow Emma to be around her so they could deal with the entire idea of their 'true love's kiss'.

As she turned the corner onto Mifflin Street, Emma's eyes were quickly averted to Dr. Hopper's car, which was parked directly outside of Regina's front gate.

"Shit." She muttered to herself as she came to a complete halt.

She contemplated bursting in through the door, taking Regina by the waist and planting a deep kiss on her mouth, the idea of which was completely overthrown at the thought of Regina's aftermath. Emma wasn't sure whether she would make it out alive if she did such a thing, even if Archie was there to witness the entire thing.

In defeat, she slouched her shoulders and turned instantly on her heel to head back towards the apartment she still shared with her parents. As much as she wanted to talk to Regina, the thought of talking to her with Archie around made her fear for her life. That was something she didn't need - a relationship lecture from Jiminy Cricket.

Her quick return to the apartment gave her mother a fright as the door was flung open. To Emma's dismay, her parents had arrived home shortly before she had and was surprised to see her so soon. Her frustration filled her mind and instantly drowned her in irritation. Avoiding eye contact with her parents, she threw herself onto the couch like a sulking teenager and folded her arms across her chest as she curled into a little ball. This position always made her feel comfortable when she lived alone for twenty-eight years - it was her protection.

"Emma, sweetie," Mary Margaret said sympathetically as she crossed the room to comfort her daughter, "what happened?" She stroked Emma's hair, pulling strands away from her face.

"Nothing." Emma snapped. "I'm sorry, I'm just confused."

"It's okay, honey. What happened?"

Even though Mary Margaret's tone was comforting and heartfelt, Emma simply wanted to push her away and be alone. ' _She's your mom, Emma, you can't do that,_ ' she told herself before sitting up to face her mother.

"Nothing happened." Emma sighed, "I walked to her street and found Archie's car parked outside and ran home because I was afraid. I was afraid she would push me away even more because he was there and I just couldn't do it."

Nodding with understanding, Mary Margaret knelt in front of her daughter and cupped her chin. "She won't push you away if you tell her everything. Be honest with her, Emma." She gave a light smile towards her daughter before movement at the back of the apartment caught her eye. "Your father and Henry dropped Regina off at her house, they're sword fighting around the apartment for some reason." Both women let out a light laugh which faded fast.

"Oh, hey, Em!" David panted as he came into view. "I thought you would have been with Regina; trying to get rid of all of those people on her front yard and all."

"What?" Emma snapped as she jumped up from the couch, almost knocking her mother over.

"The crowd of people outside Regina's house...because of the curse..." David said slowly, trying to read Emma's expression. "You don't know, do you?"

Emma shook her head. Her legs felt paralysed as she tried to run for the door in fear of Regina's state, knowing how vulnerable she had fallen within a matter of hours. Now she understood why Archie was there. If only she had plucked up enough courage to actually go to Regina's house, maybe she would have been okay.

"How many?" Emma managed to spit out.

"Hundreds." David replied honestly, giving Mary Margaret a confused look.

"Go to her." Mary Margaret whispered in her daughter's ear. "The cruiser's keys are by the door."

Emma nodded as she ran towards the front door, grabbed her car keys and ran straight for the stairs. She didn't stop until she got in the cruiser, which roared to life immediately.

*#*#*#*

_Meanwhile;_

"Regina, if you love Emma and Emma loves you, you can't push her away." Archie advised the now tear filled brunette. "You have to accept that you are both in love and want to be a part of each other's lives. Emma isn't stupid, Regina. She knows what she would be getting herself into. And you need to understand that if she's willing to defend you, she wants to be here for you."

Now letting her tears fall freely once again, Regina knew that throughout their conversation, Archie was always right. "But people are going to hate us for it. I mean, I was the Evil Queen for crying out loud and she's the Saviour - the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming! I ruined her life twenty-eight years ago; do you really expect anyone to believe that I love her?" Regina couldn't control her sobs now, making Archie stand from his seat and kneel by Regina's side, giving her a comforting side-hug. "I can't let everyone turn against her, Dr. Hopper, it just wouldn't be fair."

"What wouldn't be fair, Regina, would be you pushing Emma away like you don't love her, even though you do. I know you're afraid to let your walls down to love someone again, but Cora isn't here anymore and no one else is going to stop you from getting your happy ending - except you."

"We're telepathically connected." Regina blurted, feeling the need to express her confusion over the connection. "After the kiss, whenever we thought about each other or something we wanted to say to the other we would hear it."

"Have you spoken to her through your connection since you left the diner?" Archie asked and sat on the chair next to Regina and placed his hand reassuringly on her knee.

"No." Regina shook her head and let her eyes lock on a vase in the corner of the room in an attempt to avoid looking at Dr. Hopper. "I was too afraid that she would ignore me." She let out a long sigh before changing the subject to something that was troubling her mind just as much as Emma was. "What am I going to do about the entire collection of royal guards in my front yard?"

*#*#*#*

Emma sped down Main Street, attempting to dodge all of the people who didn't get out of her way fast enough. She hit the sirens and lights on as soon as she became too frustrated with the idiots that decided to walk on the road instead of the sidewalk.

Quickly turning onto Mifflin Street, Emma gasped at the sight she had missed less than an hour ago. She parked the car in front of Dr. Hopper's and leaped out. The sight of hundreds of royal guards and peasant people standing in the front yard of 108 Mifflin Street made Emma's stomach turn in worry for Regina. She pushed her way through the crowd and made it onto the porch to recompose herself.

Without thinking or planning what she was going to say, Emma threw open the door and ran into the house. Two shocked gasps gave away the location of both Regina and Dr. Hopper - Regina's Study. She ran into the room and stopped immediately when she was inside. Regina's face was tear stained and heartbroken, whereas Dr. Hopper looked as though he was about to have his own mental breakdown.

As soon as Emma regained her breath, she slowly walked towards Regina and offered the brunette her hand. Reluctantly, Regina took it and let Emma pull her out of the chair and into a tight bear hug.

"Regina, I know this had been a terrifying and confusing day for both of us, but I need to say something." Emma said as she pulled back a little and stared into Regina's brown eyes.

As if to say something, Regina opened her mouth and closed it again when Emma gave her waist a tight squeeze.

"I am completely in love with you, Regina Mills." Emma declared, taking the brunette by surprise. "Do you think I would be here if I didn't? From the very first day we met, I knew you were an asshole, but I knew that you were beautiful and broken and afraid and I also knew that I had fallen for you almost immediately. I may sound like an idiot, but I want you to know that I'm here for you because I love you."

As the green and brown eyes locked together, neither wanted to look away. Regina's heartbeat increased and tears began to form in her eyes once again as she let out a little smile. "You are an idiot, Miss Swan." Regina laughed and looked lovingly at Emma before throwing her arms around the woman's neck to pull her into a deep kiss.

Dr. Hopper turned around at the sight of Emma's hands wandering down Regina's back and becoming comfortable as they settled on the brunette's ass, of which she gave a light squeeze, making Regina let out a tiny moan into Emma's mouth. The noise made Emma tingle with excitement and built up her arousal. Dr. Hopper on the other hand, was still standing with his back towards the women and let out a gentle cough, as if to remind them that she was still in the room.

Regina laughed, pulling away from the kiss and looked directly into Emma's emerald green eyes. "And I think I'm completely in love with you too, Emma." She smiled and let the blonde pull her into a deep hug. "What made you come over?" Regina whispered as Emma held her close.

"My mother." Emma sighed, hoping that Regina wouldn't overreact.

"You told your mother about this?" She shouted, pushing Emma away from her, "Emma, are you stupid? We don't even know what's going on ourselves, let alone have the entire town asking us!"

"Regina..."

"No, Emma, you know what your mother is like." Regina huffed and pushed away every attempt that Emma made to touch her. "By the time you leave here, the whole town will know because she has probably already rounded up a mob of people to come here with pitchforks and torches to kill me for even going anywhere near their 'Saviour'!"

"Regina, shut up for a second!" Emma bellowed, shocking Regina into silence. "She told me to come here because she knew that our kiss was true love's kiss. She wanted me to tell you that I am in love with you. Trust me, Regina, she's not going to tell anyone about this." She snickered.

"What in the hell is that supposed to mean?" Regina snapped, feeling offended.

"I mean, come on, the true love of Snow White's daughter just so happens to be the Evil Queen? There's no chance that she's going to run around town screaming that at the top of her lungs." Emma chuckled, making Regina smile a little too. "I didn't mean to offend you."

Regina hesitated, questioning whether Emma's attempt at an apology actually meant something, or whether she was saying it because she was afraid. Either way, Regina felt conflicted; she disliked the fact that Emma had told her mother about what they had experienced that morning, but she also felt accepted that Snow actually told Emma to run to her house.

"This is good," Archie spoke from the corner of the room, "look how far you have both come in just a day. This is a big leap in accepting everything."

The sound of Archie's voice startled the women. They both got lost in the moment and completely forgot that Archie was standing in the room and watching everything.

"Dr. Hopper, remember when I asked if our conversation was between friends or of doctor-patient confidentiality?" Archie nodded in understanding, knowing what she wanted to ask before she said it. "Let's go with the latter. No one can know about this until we know what's going on."

"Regina, Gold already knows." Emma piped up and ignored the fact that Regina wanted to add another little secret to her belt. "He's known from the moment we walked into his shop this morning."

"It would be ideal to deal with your situation outside before thinking about anything else, Madam Mayor." Archie muttered. He knew Regina would be too afraid to even think about that right now, but with Emma by her side, he hoped that she would be able to pull through it and remain as strong as he knew she was.

Regina's tanned face turned pale at the thought. **_'I can't do it.'_**

**_'Yes you can, Regina.'_ **

Emma reached for Regina's hands and took them in her own, rubbing comforting circles on the top of them before looking deep into her tear-filled brown eyes. "I'm going to be here for you, okay?"


	6. Love Is Weakness

**CHAPTER SIX - Love Is Weakness**

_"She told me to come here because she knew that our kiss was true love's kiss. She wanted me to tell you that I am in love with you. Trust me, Regina, she's not going to tell anyone about this."_

As soon as Emma left the apartment, Mary Margaret attempted everything in her being not to look at her husband, who was standing in the middle of the room with his hands on his hips and a dumbfound look across his face whilst watching his wife's every move. He knew something was up and his wife's demeanour was certainly making no attempt to hide it.

In hope that David wouldn't try to converse over what had just happened, Mary Margaret began picking up random items to move them, plumping cushions and even tried to clean things that were obviously already clean. The longer she remained silent, the more she knew that David would be racking his brains about what was going on.

"What was that about?" David asked, finally breaking the silence.

"What was what about, dear?" Returning the question and turning her back on her husband, Mary Margaret was waiting to burst.

"Oh, I don't know," the sarcasm in David's voice sent a shiver through Mary Margaret's body - a shiver of regret and dishonesty. "Maybe it's something to do with the fact that as soon as I mentioned Regina being alone with a yard full of royal guards, Emma completely freaked out. What's up with her, Mary Margaret? What's going on?"

"Um, well..." Mary Margaret stuttered, praying that she could keep her promise with Emma. "You know, Emma and Regina are good friends now. I think she was just looking out for her. Emma is a good person, David. She doesn't like to see people get hurt, that's why she was so concerned about Regina."

She hadn't realised she had been holding her breath until the lie trickled out of her mouth and almost gasped for air. As bad as she felt about lying to her husband, Mary Margaret also felt a sense of relief in knowing that she had kept her promise with Emma so far. It usually would have taken one single look with her husband for all of her secrets to come flying out, except this time, she had more than her husband to keep happy.

If Emma and Regina were to have a relationship, Mary Margaret thought, Emma would most certainly tell her father when she was ready. She knew that this wasn't her place to tell him. She had already lost Emma once, she couldn't lose her again.

"You're lying to me, Snow." He deadpanned and crossed his arms over his chest. "What is going on between Emma and Regina?"

"I don't know, David! And if I did know, I wouldn't say anything because it wouldn't be my place to say it!" On realising that she had begun shouting, Mary Margaret closed her mouth and let her expression apologise. "Besides, she's a grown woman, we shouldn't get involved in any of this!"

"You're still lying to me! Whatever you're hiding from me, Mary Margaret, I will find out." David huffed and reached for his jacket off the coat rack. "I'm going for a walk. Henry is playing computer games if you want to check in on him. Just don't lie to him as well. You know how much he hates liars."

Without another word, David left the apartment and slammed the door. That was one thing he hated - being lied to. It wasn't something Mary Margaret ever did, which made it even worse. She could barely keep a secret from David, let alone tell a massive lie to him. Clearly something was happening between his daughter and the former Evil Queen, he just couldn't put his finger on it.

The strangest bit about it all, was that Emma and Regina had spent so long hating each other, it was actually painful to see them act like friends, let alone to think of them as lovers.

*#*#*#*

Emma and Regina stood behind the door of 108 Mifflin Street, desperately holding each other's hand. Regina was shaking and almost on the verge of crying, whereas Emma stood tall in her stance and felt determined to face whatever was about to occur when they opened the door. All she hoped, was that Regina wouldn't build up her walls and block her out when she need her the most.

"Regina, I'm going to wait in here for you just in case you need me, okay?" Archie reassured her and took a seat on the bottom step of the curved staircase. "When you feel that you have had enough, all you need to do is to be reluctant about having people talk to you and they will stop."

Nodding in appreciation and understanding, Regina took a deep breath and reached for the door handle to pull it open. As it slowly opened to reveal a crowd of royal guards standing in her front yard, the fear inside her began to grow faster and faster, causing her to squeeze Emma's hand a lot tighter than she had intended to.

Hundreds of expressionless faces had their eyes instantly locked onto Emma and Regina as they stepped out onto the porch together. The blonde gave a reassuring and comforting squeeze of the hand tangled in her own and waited for someone to speak.

*#*#*#*

Mary Margaret left Henry to his own accord, knowing that if he was anything like his mothers, he didn't want to be disturbed or start any form of conversation. Instead she flopped herself onto her couch with a sigh and began to pity herself for the conversation she had just had with her husband.

She regretted not telling him, of course, but she also would have hated herself if she did tell him. If she had told him, she knew that with the ever growing relationship Emma had with her father, there was no doubt he would want to run straight to his blonde child and pry her away from the woman who tried to ruin their lives.

It wasn't as if she wanted Emma to be in love with Regina, she just hoped that it would have been someone else. And a man. A prince. Of course, nothing ever seemed to go the way she wanted it to.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, Snow." Came a voice from the corner of the room. "I know what's happened, dear, and you did make the wrong choice. And so has Emma."

Looking up to find the person who the voice belonged to, the angst inside Mary Margaret merely grew. "Blue? What on earth are you talking about?"

The Blue Fairy had appeared in the corner of the apartment, dressed in her Mother Superior clothes and glowing blue wings stretched behind her. A smug look on her face proved to Mary Margaret that she was planning something.

Unlike Emma and Regina, Mary Margaret still found Blue's actions to be worthy and truthful, even if people did get hurt in the process. She had helped her on so many accounts, it was difficult to believe that her actions weren't for the greater good.

"Emma and Regina - I know everything." Blue sighed and crossed the room to sit next to Mary Margaret. "Since I am and always will be, the fairy for your family, I tend to know what happens. Well, everything except for what Emma told you at the diner. She blocked out her connection which prevented me from knowing what she has told you."

"That's because it was private, Blue." The confusion in Mary Margaret's tone began to question Blue's intentions with knowing about said conversation. "Why would you need to know?"

"Snow, I think your daughter is in danger." The fairy replied bluntly.

"What do you mean, Blue?" Mary Margaret's voice soon became concerned and welcomed anything the Blue had to offer.

"Regina is manipulative and I know that you're trying to forgive her and allow her to change, but I don't think you understand. Regina is going to use this against you - all of you." Blue said, and took Mary Margaret's hand in her own. "Whatever Emma has told you, Regina isn't her true love. It's an illusion."

*#*#*#*

"Whenever you're ready, Regina." Emma whispered, knowing how terrified the brunette was.

Movement from the back of the group startled Emma; she instantly assumed that the person was going to attempt to attack Regina straight away, but instead, he merely smiled as he stood before her.

"Thank you, your Majesty," The guard standing before them nodded before continuing his piece, "Thank you for protecting me."

He smiled again before disappearing. The heavy burden on Regina's shoulders suddenly felt lighter with the hope that the remainder of this activity would be as smooth sailing as it had been so far.

The man who had stood before her was a dear acquaintance to Regina, as he was one of the stable boys that worked under King Leopold. Regina killed him out of mercy. The King believed that she was having an affair with him, causing instant rage to build inside the King and ordered his immediate death. Regina however, blamed herself for the occurrence and offered her services to end his life rather than to die by the hand of the King.

He accepted her offer and she ripped out his heart and crushed it before any of the King's men realised that he had disappeared. She felt the mercy killing was something for the greater good. That was until she craved the feel of a beating heart in her hand once again. Her bloodlust only grew during her time under Leopold's hold.

Another guard stepped forward, this time it was an older man. Regina recognised the man and smirked. The glare on his face frightened Emma more than Regina, but rather than expressing her fear, she stepped forward a little and held Regina's hand behind her back, almost attempting to offer herself as Regina's shield, of which she was incredibly grateful.

"You killed me." The croaky voice started as he continued to walk towards the two standing on the porch. "I had a family and you killed me, your majesty. I hope you're happy with the pain you've caused over the years."

He continued to approach until his foot came within inches of the first step onto the porch when he disappeared. Fortunately, his time was up, leaving him with no chance of getting anywhere near Regina. He did however, remind her of the endless nights she spent lying awake with her thoughts wandering to the families she had ruined whenever she killed.

Her fear built once again as she questioned whether some would actually get close enough to actually attack her. She took another deep breath and let her entire body shake with anxiety.

' ** _You're doing great.'_**

Regina allowed a small smile as she continued to look out onto her yard for faces she remembered or recognised. It was difficult to tell when the majority of the guards wore their helmets and drooped their heads, but some guards were too easily recognised. Some deaths stuck in her head and haunted her for years.

The next appearance, to Emma's surprise, was a woman. Her confidence and glare set Emma on edge. She stalked through the crowd of people and continued walking up the steps of the porch before pushing Emma to the ground, gripping Regina around the neck and pinning her against the front door.

"You bitch." She spat at the squirming brunette beneath her grasp. "The Dark One chose me - not you. I could have been great and powerful, but you had to ruin it, didn't you, Princess?"

Emma pushed herself off the floor and ran towards the woman standing over Regina in an attempt to tackle her to the floor. Expecting the impact of the other woman's body, she landed on the floor with a thump and a sudden realisation hit that she had fallen through the attacker and landed alone. Regina watched Emma fall and tried pulling herself out of the grasp of the Dark One's former apprentice.

"Who did you have to kill to get her to defend you like that?" She tilted her head and smirked at Regina, whose fear suddenly turned to anger.

"Everyone I loved most." Regina snapped and swung for the woman who disappeared on contact. "Emma..."

She rushed across the porch to the blonde that lay in confusion on the floor. "I hate magic so much." Emma muttered under her breath. "Are you okay?"

Regina nodded and awkwardly leaned towards Emma for a hug. As soon as their bodies touched in the embrace, Regina felt her heart race faster than ever before. If these events didn't prove that Emma loved her, then nothing ever would. No one had ever attempted to defend her in the way Emma did; anyone else defended her out of fear of being killed.

' ** _Thank you, Emma,'_**

Emma held Regina's shaking body close her own and felt surprisingly safe, even if there were still hundreds of people waiting in the front yard. Under Emma's grasp, Regina too felt safe, even if she didn't want to admit it.

*#*#*#*

"Blue, I think you're wrong." Mary Margaret said, startling the fairy. "I mean, there were times in Neverland where she could have killed all of us, but she didn't because she's trying to change. She has saved us countless times and we're still alienating her because of something she did in the past. And no, I didn't really want my daughter to be in love with the Evil Qu- Regina, but if Regina loves her back and promises to protect her, then who am I to argue?"

"She won't protect her, Snow. Emma has a true love, but it isn't Regina. There is a spell I can cast, it's a spell that will make Emma's true love glow, we just need her to agree to it, and then we'll see whether this stuff is real or not. Believe me, it's not."

"Fine," Mary Margaret deadpanned; she knew that Emma was telling the truth, she just needed a little more proof and if Blue could provide her with an element of that truth, then that was something she was willing to take. "And if her true love isn't Regina...?"

"Oh, don't worry, dear. I have something in mind." The Blue Fairy smirked with accomplishment.

*#*#*#*

"Is everything okay out here?" Archie asked and peered his head around the door. "I heard a couple of thuds then complete silence. I got a little worried."

"We're fine, Dr. Hopper." Regina said as she pulled from Emma's grasp and stared deep into the blonde's deep green eyes when she lifted the blonde's chin with her index finger. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm okay." Emma smiled and held Regina's gaze until she noticed the bright red mark around the brunette's neck. "Oh my god, Regina, she's hurt you."

Emma reached out and lightly pressed her fingers onto the mark on Regina's neck. She hadn't realised how tight the grasp had been around her neck until she felt Emma's light contact. When the sting hit, she gasped and pulled away, leaving Emma's sorrow filled eyes watching her every move.

"I'm sorry. Do you want to take a little break and try again later?" She suggested.

"No, I'll be okay." Regina stood up and offered her hand to help Emma stand. "A few more won't hurt, I'm sure."

Emma took the brunette's hand and pulled herself up awkwardly. "Thanks," she murmured and stood in front of the door once again and waited for Regina to join her.

As Regina stood by Emma's side once again, she brushed her hand over the blonde's and waited for her to take it. Once her hand was firmly tangled with Emma's, she took a deep breath and stared into the crowd.

This time, Archie watched the turn of events from the window of the study, just in case one of them reacted again. He watched how close Emma and Regina had come within a couple of hours. It was odd to see the two standing in such a close proximity, let alone holding hands and intertwining their fingers. The weird feeling he had about the image was most certainly overcome by how happy he was to see them working together and not fighting.

Of course, it would definitely take some time for them to stop the hurtful and snarky comments, but it was Emma and Regina, there was a high possibility that they won't ever stop bickering, even if they decided to take the relationship further. That was something Archie wanted - Emma and Regina to be a couple. To be a family and love their son together. For two broken people to fall in love, god only knows if they could fix each other.

Being more focused on the two women standing on the porch together, Archie hadn't noticed the tall dark man walking towards them and climbing the steps of the porch.

The closer the guard became, the more Regina squeezed Emma's hand. This time, she was terrified. She had remembered his death and remembered being haunted by the memories for months afterwards. She had killed him because he was the first of her guards to fail to kill King Leopold.

She had tried on countless occasions to bring the man down herself but came to no avail. She had asked this guard to kill the king in his sleep with the King's own sword. When the guard left the King's bedchamber with a tiny dagger in his hand and the smallest trickle of blood on the blade, she knew he had failed her.

Upon being asked about the deed, the guard held the dagger tightly in his hand and advanced towards his Queen. At the time she merely chuckled as he pinned her against the wall and held the dagger to her throat. With the smallest flick of her wrist, his grasp fell loose as he landed on the floor with a thud. She reached into his chest and ripped his heart out and held it above his body before she began to squeeze. The ash and dust from the remains of the heart were scattered across his body.

"You poisonous bitch." The guard shouted as he came within inches of Regina's face. "You didn't have to kill me, you know. I didn't want to commit treason! Anyone else and I would have, but it was the King, you were supposed to have loved him!"

Just as the guard began to step forward, he disappeared, leaving Regina breathless and feeling weak. Her legs began to shake and her grasp on Emma's hand became tighter. Reacting quickly, Emma wrapped her arms around Regina just as she began to fall, catching her and using her own body to cushion her fall.

"It's okay, he's gone." Emma cooed and held Regina close to her body. "He can't hurt you now."

Emma's instant reaction caused Regina's chest to tighten. Being held and reassured was something that never happened to her, nor did she ever expect it to. Especially from Emma. All of the occurrences of the day overwhelmed Regina to the point where she gave up on fighting her emotions once again and let herself cry in Emma's embrace.

The blonde began to thread her fingers through Regina's hair and slowly rocked the limp and crying woman in her arms. Seeing the people approach them made Emma realise why Regina had built up her walls. None of this was really her fault. No, it was Cora's. Cora made this mess and now Regina was the one left to clean it all up.

Without her walls, Emma realised how weak and timid Regina must have been whilst her mother was building her up into a stone cold queen. As much as she hated seeing Regina with her walls up, seeing the woman so broken and vulnerable actually hurt her. She wanted hold her tight and protect her from the world, but she knew Regina wouldn't always oblige. She knew that as soon as she had calmed down, the former queen would push the comforting blonde away.

"Come on, we'll go inside and grab a glass of cider." Emma said as she stroked the side of Regina's face and caught a few tears. "You need it."

"No." Regina refused and pushed herself off Emma the way she had predicted and wiped away her tears. "I have to keep going. I'm letting my emotions control me again. Emotions are weakness, Miss Swan. Love is weakness."

She stood and took her stance in front of the door, shooting a glare at Emma when she tried to move. She took a deep breath and waited. Her wait wasn't long when she noticed movement in the corner of her eye.

It was a man dressed fairly smart for a peasant, Regina commented. He wore an outfit she recognised. Not only did she recognise it, she began to well up the longer she looked it. It was the dress of a stable boy, but not just any stable boy. Her stable boy.

_Daniel_.


	7. Fairy Dust

**CHAPTER SEVEN - Fairy Dust**

She took a deep breath and waited. Her wait wasn't long when she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. A man dressed fairly smart for a peasant, Regina commented. It was an outfit she recognised. Not only did she recognise it, she began to well up the longer she saw it. It was the dress of a stable boy, but not just any stable boy. Her stable boy. It was Daniel.

Archie pounded on the window to Emma, feeling too scared to move. He knew what was about to happen and really didn't want to be in the way of Regina's wrath. Emma, on the other hand was too confused at the sight to notice what Archie was trying to tell her through the window. She watched as Regina's chest began to rise and fall faster than Emma had ever seen. The more she watched, the more she began to understand Regina's reaction.

From the moment she saw Regina's mouth open and eyes fill with tears, Emma knew right away who it was. The way he walked and approached Regina showed to Emma how much he loved her. It was clear that the man stood on the porch was Regina's former lover in the Enchanted Forest, and Emma knew all too well not to interrupt the reunion. The look of dread on his face was enough to tell Emma how reluctant he was to talk to the brunette.

Regina's heart pounded and fluttered in her chest. Her stomach turned and a lump in her throat grew until she couldn't breathe. Her entire body felt as though it was about to convulse. After the last time she saw him, she expected not to feel this way about him - especially after the danger he put both herself and Henry in. But the feeling overwhelmed her. It was the very same feeling that overwhelmed her when she had shared her first kiss with Emma; she felt conflicted, except this time, it was her head telling her she loved him, whereas her heart begged to differ.

Her head was convinced that she was still in love with him, whereas her heart was telling her to turn around and fall into Emma. She loved the blonde truly, but seeing Daniel in the flesh again - her first love - made her think irrationally.

"Daniel..." She sighed and reached out to place her hand on his cheek, completely forgetting what had happened when she attempted to do the same to her father.

This time however, her hand landed gently on Daniel's cheek. His cold skin came as a shock to her when her warm hand suddenly turned cold. His eyes were empty and his facial expression was not of existence. The last time they met, his eyes were filled with anger, fear and sorrow, and his skin was warm.

"Regina, my love," He began and placed his own hand upon Regina's warm cheek, turning it cold as fast as her hand had. "I am so sorry."

The tears welling up in her eyes were uncontrollable. It still pained her how much her head wanted to believe that she still loved Daniel, and to see him again only exacerbated the situation. Regina couldn't help but feel as though she wanted to run away; she wanted to run, but her mind told her to stay with Daniel and her heart told her to stay for Emma. Instead of running and keeping her distance, Regina flung her arms around Daniel's neck and hung on for her dear life.

"I loved you, Regina." He whispered and smiled at the surprise embrace.

"I love you, too." She stuttered through broken tears. Her words were truthful from her mind, but as they left her mouth, she felt a pang in her heart that her words were a lie.

"But you can't love me, Regina. You're already in love with someone else. I am dead and you're alive; I can't give you anything. There is someone here that loves you; someone that is your true love. As much as you wish to believe that it was me, it really wasn't. I was your first love - the love you wanted because you never had it during your youth. If your mother hadn't killed me, there would be no doubt that you would have lived an incredibly unhappy life with me. I can't and never would have been able to give you the love that your true love can give you, Regina. Forget your past, forget me and love again. Love is strength, Regina, not weakness."

Although his words were truthful and honest, they hurt like daggers. Regina felt as though he was pushing her away and ignoring the love that they had once shared, even if it was due to her youth and lack of affections from her mother.

"Daniel, no. You were my true love." Her sobs returned and Emma swore she could see her heart breaking in her eyes. As the words left her lips, Regina felt another pang to her heart. A pang that told her that she already knew that Daniel was never her true love.

Refusing to sit and watch Regina torture herself with the scene, Emma stood and walked behind Regina. Her timing was impeccable. The moment she stood directly behind the brunette, Daniel gave one last smile with a shake of his head and disappeared. Seeing him leave so suddenly and watching her arms fall through thin air, Regina began to break apart even more. She fell to her knees, only to be caught by the blonde standing behind her. Even though her embrace was needed, Regina felt it unwanted. She didn't want to have someone to catch her when she fell, she didn't want to have someone holding her hand through everything; her mind continued to tell her that all she really wanted was Daniel.

Daniel's disappearance didn't cause an ache in her heart like it had when she left Emma in the diner merely hours ago. Instead, her head began to mourn the loss more than anything else. Her heart wanted Emma, but her head longed for Daniel.

Realising Emma's dilemma and noticing that he could finally move again, Archie ran towards the door and joined Emma and Regina on the porch. He watched as Regina attempted to squirm her way out of Emma's grasp. She remained in a state of hysterically crying and violently swinging her arms around to get herself away from the strong grasp around her. Knowing the damage she would cause if she was to let go, Emma simply held on tighter, refusing to let go and waited for Regina to calm down and settle into her arms.

When the brunette had stopped fighting Emma's hold, she melted into the embrace around her and actually began to welcome the idea of the security of having someone to hold her and catch her whenever she fell. All of the feelings welling up inside of her was clearly clouding her judgement about the situation. She couldn't get attached to the blonde; this time she couldn't listen to her heart because she couldn't set herself up for the fall. Emma leaves; that's what she does and it's what she's always done. She saves herself from falling too deep and becoming attached. That's what Regina reminded herself that she needed to do. She couldn't become attached because in the end, everyone leaves.

"Emma, let me go," She insisted and continued to squirm around after she realised that the longer she stayed in Emma's arms, the more she wanted to be there.

"No way, Regina." Emma refused, "Both you and I know that if I let you go you're going to let your wrath out on someone. You want to change, right? Then listen to Daniel, he wants you to move on and forget your past. Regina, he wants you to love someone again and change who you've become."

"You didn't know who I was in the first place, Miss Swan," Regina bit back, hoping that her words would hurt and let Emma release her. "How can you say that I can change who I am becoming? How can you pretend like you know what's going on? You don't know anything about any of this."

"No, Regina, I didn't know who you were, that's why I believe that you're not the Evil Queen anymore. It's also why I know that you can change; you can be who you once were. You can start a fresh, you just need to trust someone." Emma could feel Regina giving up her fight but kept her grip just incase. "All I'm asking is that you trust me."

"How can I trust you when you can't even forget your own past? You have Baelfire traipsing around after you like a lost puppy, expecting you to fall on your knees and act like you love him again. And then you have the pirate who believes that he can make you forget your past with his endless flask of rum. You still haven't even opened up to your parents about the fact that you don't want them to smother you because spending twenty-eight years without them made you vulnerable. Oh yeah, that's a great reason to trust you. And let me guess, just because it's become known to the both of us that we're 'true loves', do you really think I intend to love you?"

Hearing the words fall out of her mouth made Regina want to turn around and instantly hug the blonde in an attempt to apologise, but she simply couldn't. Everything she said was only spoken aloud because she was afraid. No, she was terrified. She was afraid to love Emma, she was afraid to hurt her and she was afraid that Emma would hurt her just as easily. But one thing that surprised her was the fact that she wasn't afraid to lose Daniel all over again. Seeing him leave hurt her but now that he had gone, her heart ached only for Emma.

Emma's silence echoed the truth that she had really hurt the blonde. "I'm sorry," Regina whispered.

"Don't even bother, Regina." Emma warned but still kept her grasp around the brunette, even if she had made her cry out of fury. "You know, falling in love with you wasn't exactly something I had planned either. But you know what? That's life, it's incredibly fucked up and nothing really goes the way we wanted it to. I know I still have trouble forgetting my past, but I'm trying. I've welcomed my parents into my life, I've told Neal that I don't want him, I even attempted to tell Hook that I'm not even remotely interested in him and now I'm trying to tell you that you're the only one that I want, because you're the only one who understands me. You're the only one who has helped me try to forget my past. Without you, I probably would have left Storybrooke, left Henry, given up on the curse and I probably would have been living alone in an apartment in Boston; wasting away my life. Regina, I love you and I want you - I want you and all of the messed up shadows of your past."

"So, you're never going to leave?" Regina asked, both irritated and concerned.

"No, not unless both you and Henry want me to." Emma's tears had stopped because she knew that she was beginning to mean less and less to Regina and that she would only push her away even further. "And you probably already want me to leave."

"I don't want you to leave." Regina began to realise how much Daniel's words meant to her. He wanted her to move on. He wanted her to love again. She held tight to the arms around her body. "I want you to stay, but I also want you to know that I can't love you the way you deserve to be loved. It took me years to want to try and love again, and when Henry arrived I knew that the love I gave him would be the only love I could ever give. So find someone else because I can't give you the love and happy ending that you deserve."

"And what if you are my happy ending, Regina? What happens then?"

"I don't know, Emma, I don't know." Regina sighed and leaned further into Emma's embrace, clutching the arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She leaned her head back onto Emma's shoulder and closed her eyes.

*#*#*#*

"We have to find Emma and tell her that Regina isn't her true love, Snow." The Blue Fairy demanded as she stood up from the couch in Mary Margaret's apartment.

"She's at Regina's house right now." Mary Margaret informed, hoping that her choice was the right one. As much as she would hate to see Emma heart broken, she would much rather help her soothe a broken heart that watch her falsely love Regina Mills.

"Take my hand. We probably don't have much time before Emma begins to believe it even more than she already does." Blue held out her hand to Mary Margaret and instantly evaporated them, sending them directly outside the home of the re-elected Mayor Mills.

The gate was ajar and the yard was filled with people. David had told Emma about the scene, but Mary Margaret didn't entirely believe that this was what he meant. The two looked further into the front yard to find Regina lying in Emma's arms on the porch and Archie standing by their side. Mary Margaret's immediate reaction told her to pull Regina out of Emma's arms and drag her daughter home, but she knew that Emma would refuse.

"Hello Regina, Emma, Dr. Hopper." Blue said as she pushed the gate further open and started up the path.

"What in the hell do you want?" Regina asked, pushing herself out of Emma's grasp and standing to face the Blue Fairy. Emma knew all too well but to attempt to hold her back, especially in front of her mother and Blue.

"Well dear, we've come to see Emma to inform her that the accusation she made of the two of you being 'true loves' was actually incorrect." Blue added a little smile to her sarcastic reply and stared directly at Regina. "So, Madam Mayor, what have you done to cause Emma to be so head over heels for you?"

"Nothing actually, Blue." Regina rolled her eyes and landed them on Snow, who was standing directly behind the fairy. "Oh, okay, I see where this is going. The two of you don't want me anywhere near Emma, so you've decided to attempt to make me out to be the villain, again."

**_'Regina, don't. This is all Mother Superior. None of this is my mother; if it was do you think she would have sent me here in the first place?'_ **

**_'I don't care. Like I said, Emma; I can't love you.'_ **

"Emma, would you come here for a second, dear?" Mary Margaret asked, sounding too motherly for Emma's liking.

"If you want me to leave, just so you know, I'm not leaving her." Emma said as she stood by Regina's side. "I'm not leaving Regina to deal with all of this on her own."

"We're not asking you to leave, Emma," Blue continued, "we're asking for your permission to prove that Regina isn't your true love."

**_'This should be fun.'_ **

Regina nodded at Emma when she was given a sidewards glance. "Fine."

Blue smiled and took out a small vial of dust and shook it before taking out the cork at the top. She instructed Emma to step closer to her and asked Regina to stand by the door of her house. Both obliged and Blue began to pour a little of the fairy dust in her hand before lightly blowing it into Emma's face. The blonde sneezed and looked up towards the fairy in confusion of what to expect. But instead, she could tell what had happened just by looking into her face. She turned around to find Regina glowing the same blue colour as the dust that had been blown into her face.

"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it, Blue?" Regina smirked as she leaned against the door to her house. "Oh go on, do tell me how I was miraculously able to force Emma Swan of all people to be my 'true love', even though both you and I know that it is impossible to force one's hand in the matter of love."

The Blue Fairy stared at Regina before letting her eyes fall onto Emma, whose expression was almost identical to Regina's. They both stood with smirks on their faces and a lot of annoyance in their eyes. Without another word, she twirled on her heel and ushered a confused Mary Margaret out of the front yard before evaporating them once again.

"So, what do we do now?" Emma asked as she turned to face Regina.

"Well, I refuse to deal with all of this," she gestured towards the ever present crowd in her front yard and advanced towards Emma. "So now I believe we need to pay a little visit to dear old Rumple."

Regina held out her arm to Emma as an indication that they were going to follow suit with Blue and Mary Margaret by evaporating to the pawn shop on Main Street. Archie remained standing alone on the porch as the two disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. He lingered on the porch for a little while longer before sighing in disbelief of what had actually already happened that day.

*#*#*#*

"Rumple!" Regina yelled as the two appeared in a cloud of purple smoke inside the pawn shop.

"Hello dearies," Rumple said as he emerged from behind the curtain, smiling as soon as his eyes fell onto Emma standing behind Regina. "What can I do for you both this afternoon?"

"Cut the crap, you know why we're here." Regina snapped and leaned on the counter. "We know we broke the curse, we don't understand how we're 'true loves' and we sure as hell don't know what to do while you mess around in an attempt to remake the curse."

"Ah, good." He grinned as he leaned forward on his cane, "Talking about the curse; you two were meant to secure the damn thing. I've known that the two of you were the true love of the other for quite some time, but obviously the two of you were too busy going at each other's throats to actually realise how well suited you were. So, I used that to lock the curse. Since I never thought you would act upon it and actually kiss, it seemed like a pretty good idea."

"Okay, so what's the catch?" Emma questioned, knowing Rumple all too well now, "There's got to be a reason why you wanted us to come here, other than for you to just marvel in your previous knowledge."

"To create a counter curse, the two of you are required to act on your new found true love." Rumple smiled at the dumbfounded looks on the women's faces. "So that means ladies, you've got to actually act upon your love for each other. Because we all know all too well that you each love the other."

"This is insanity." Regina stated as she pushed herself off the glass counter. "How are we supposed to do it?"

"Well, you're a lot more obliging than I thought you would have been." He said as he let out one of his infamous giggles. "You might want to start with a date night or even getting to know one another."

"Fine, but you have to babysit your grandson whilst Emma and I have a 'date night'." Secretly, the idea of spending some alone time with Emma excited Regina, so Rumple's suggestion was something she was willing to metaphorically grasp with both hands.

"Do I not get a say in any of this?" Emma asked as she rested her hands on her hips. Regina raised her eyebrow in order for Emma to elaborate on what she had just said. "It's not that I don't want to go on a date night with you, Regina, because I do, it's just that I don't think we should publicise these dates."

"Then what do you suggest, Miss Swan?" Regina questioned and knit her eyebrows.

"I don't know, maybe like something we did last night; a home cooked meal, a movie and less taunting me with fireballs." Emma suggested, making Regina scoff at the memory of their playful fight in her kitchen the night before.

"Fine," Regina added behind a light smile.

"Well then, I expect my grandson to be here tomorrow night at 5:45pm tomorrow - no earlier nor later." Rumple commanded with a smug look on his face, "I'm sure Bae and Belle will find a few things to keep him occupied overnight."

Regina nodded and dragged Emma out of the shop by the cuff of her leather jacket. "Henry will stay with you and your parents tonight; I don't want him seeing all of that mess." She waved her hand as a gesture towards the dead in her yard. "You can bring him here and I expect to see you outside my house at exactly 6pm tomorrow evening."

She didn't know why she was being so cold with Emma, but this entire thing terrified her. The thought of loving someone again was the hardest thing to contemplate, even if it did excite her more than anything else.

"Okay," Emma smiled as Regina began to turn on her heel to walk away. Emma grabbed her wrist and pulled the brunette backwards, not willing to let her go just yet. Before she could think about what she was doing, Emma placed a light kiss on Regina's cheek and let her wrist go. "Good night, Regina. See you tomorrow."

*#*#*#*

"What the hell just happened, Blue?" Mary Margaret raged as they reappeared in her apartment. "You told me that they weren't each other's true loves. You were convinced!"

"That shouldn't have happened, my dear, Snow," Blue said calmly as she tried to think of ways to end this. "Daniel was Regina's one and only true love and Emma's true love is Baelfire. I have been a seer for quite some time and I know how to decipher what was, was is and what could be. Emma and Regina could never be together. I have already seen it, Snow. Baelfire will father Emma's second child and Regina will not be a part of their lives!"

"You're lying, Blue." Mary Margaret glared at the fairy-nun and felt her entire body begin to tremble. "What did you really see?"


	8. Wear the Dress

**CHAPTER EIGHT - Wear the Dress**

Emma had spent all of her Sunday afternoon ripping random articles of clothing out of her closet and haphazardly throwing them onto her bed. The question of why she cared so much about looking good for her date with Regina remained unanswered, but if she was being entirely honest with herself, she knew the answer. She wanted Regina to be impressed. She wanted the true love that her parents had, and she knew all too well that if it was going to happen with Regina, she would have to work damn hard to get what she wanted.

It had taken a lot to convince her father to cover her at the station that afternoon, but after she gave him her puppy-dog eyes and a little guilt trip about her childhood, he was practically wrapped around her little finger. In fact, Emma would almost go as far as to say that he seemed glad to get out of the apartment. He didn't ask any questions though. Her mother, on the other hand, was far from falling for her daughter's tricks, especially after what she had witnessed outside Regina's home. Snow constantly looked at Emma with a worried gaze, as if the blonde woman in front of her was someone far from her daughter.

With the Blue Fairy's influences and determined involvement, Snow couldn't help but allow her mind to wander down the path that Blue was so anal about her believing. Even though the fairy dust had worked to prove Emma and Regina's True Love, Snow felt adamant in believing that her daughter was under some sort of curse or spell. She of all people knew well enough that there was no spell, curse or potion that could force someone to love another, but seeing her daughter protect and defend the former Evil Queen sparked too many unwanted thoughts in her mind. There were spells in the old land that that influenced obedience and loyalty, but that would never have set off the fairy dust in the way it had.

"Emma, you have to tell me what's going on, honey," Snow said as she peered through Emma's bedroom to find the blonde prancing around in just a bra and sweatpants. "Where on earth are you going?"

"I have to do something tonight; it could help rebuild Gold's curse," Emma's frustration became caught up in her speech abilities. She was never truly talented with words, but this was becoming ridiculous, "Got a date, need to look good."

"Oh my god, you're going on a date with her, aren't you?!" Snow practically screamed, her face reddened with anger.

"Look, mom," Emma breathed as she stopped pacing the room to face her mother. "I've been attracted to Regina ever since Henry dragged me here from Boston and now that I know she's my True Love, we're going to try to work it out. I've always been physically attracted to her, but now I can't help but be attracted to every part of her; I mean; she's just as damaged as I am, she's gone through so much shit yet she's still able to love people and put those people first. I can't help but want to protect her when I'm around her, and when I'm not around her, I just feel lost - like I'm missing a limb or something and it's crazy. She's pretty damn hot too, I mean; have you seen her-"

"But Emma, she's the Evil Queen!" Mary Margaret yelled her interruption, startling her daughter. "She ruined our lives; she took you away from me the minute you were born and trapped us here. She can't be loved and she can't love you!"

"No, you sent me away. You sent me away to save yourselves and your kingdom and I get that - it took a while, and now I get it, but you can't blame Regina for that! That was all on you." Emma's cheeks became flushed as she raised her voice to match her mothers.

Six months ago, she never would have defended Regina; in fact, she hated the woman, but with everything that had occurred in the previous 48 hours, Emma wanted nothing more than to protect the former Evil Queen. "She's not the Queen anymore. Here she's just Regina. Just Regina Mills, the mayor of Storybrooke; the very same woman that gave you all good lives without the memories of a previous life. She could have let you have all of those memories, she could have let you mourn. But she didn't. She let you all forget. She let you all live.

"You know, everything that she has ever done was out of the fear of her mother and Rumple. None of this would have happened if Cora had left her heart in her chest. Regina would have been loved, she would have been happy - Daniel wouldn't have died, your parents wouldn't have died, no one would have died and none of us would be here. But you know what? In some sick and twisted way, I'm glad Cora put her through all of that. I'm glad Regina cast the curse that forced me to live a life in the system. Do you want to know why? Because now I have Henry. I have Henry, I have Regina and I have my family. I can fix Regina; I can help her be happy and be the person you used to know.

"I never could have lived in the Enchanted Forest, Mary Margaret, I couldn't have been a princess or a queen. I couldn't have ruled an entire kingdom. I have only just learnt to look after myself, let alone look after a kingdom and defend them from fucking ogres. Regina's curse was a gift to me. Yesterday you told me to run to Regina, you told me that if she loved me and that everything would be okay. You practically told me that you would support it until Blue came along. I've been telling you for such a long time that she's poisonous and she will only make matters worse! I can't believe you would trust her above your own daughter. I want to love Regina."

Mary Margaret stood in the doorway to Emma's room in utter shock. Everything her daughter had shouted at her had been honest, heartfelt confessions. They were some of her deepest, darkest secrets and they hurt. Of course they would, but the sudden reveal made Mary Margaret's heart ache. She hadn't actually thought about what really would have happened if the curse had never been cast. It had never occurred to her that she would be without her grandson, and that was a thought she never wanted to have.

"Emma, I..." Snow tearfully started.

"Just don't," Emma muttered as she put her hand up to stop her mother from talking. "I know you don't approve anymore, but I want my happy ending and my True Love. I just want you to understand and accept that, even if you don't like it, I want you to be happy for me."

"I want to be happy for you, Emma, I really do." Taking a few slow steps forward, Snow took her daughter's face in her hands and rubbed her thumbs across the blonde's reddened cheeks. "I'm just scared, Emma. I'm scared that she won't be able to love you, or that she would hurt you. I want you to have your happy ending, I want you to love and live with your True Love, but I need you to understand how difficult this is going to be for me. Blue is insisting that she isn't your true love. She is adamant that your true love is someone else; can you really blame me for wanting to believe that?"

"I do, I get it, really. You've got a past with her - a past that neither of you are ever going to forget. But I wasn't a part of that past. I only see her for who she is now. I see the loving and overprotective woman that raised my son for ten years. Regina has protected herself so much for so long and whenever I'm around her, her walls fall. She lets me in and I can see who she really is. If she couldn't love me, how can she love Henry? How can she even have a True Love? Maybe this could be good for her. Maybe I can save her." Emma stepped out of her mother's hold and stood before her closet once more. "Can we just go back to being Emma and Mary Margaret - the roommates that would actually help each other in choosing outfits for dates? Because I have nothing and I need my best friend."

Mary Margaret offered a weak smile and a nod before approaching Emma's partially empty wardrobe and changing her demeanour entirely. She hated that Emma didn't want to be mothered, but what she hated more was the fact that her own daughter was so determined to love the Evil Queen. She even hated the fact that she had stupidly listened to the Blue Fairy when they arrived at her apartment after visiting Emma and Regina on Mifflin Street. The Blue Fairy had tried to convince her that Emma and Regina would have a fling until Emma realised that she was actually in love with Neal and not Regina.

Mary Margaret hated herself for thinking about it, but she almost felt glad that her daughter would go through heartbreak with the Evil Queen before coming to her senses and realising that she has loved Neal all along.

"You need to wear a dress, Em."

*#*#*#*

Across the other side of town, Regina was having exactly the same issue as her date, apart from the fact that she didn't have anyone to actually help her decide what to wear. The thought of going on a date with Emma both excited and terrified her. Ever since the first time she had laid eyes on the irritating blonde, she couldn't help but feel pulled towards her. Whether it was attraction, lust or, dare she say it, love at first sight, Regina didn't know, but now that she knew Emma loved her, she couldn't help but feel partially excited about what was going to unfold that night.

After both Daniel's death and his two sudden reappearances, Regina had come to terms with the fact that she no longer truly loved him. She had spent well over thirty years mourning a man that she barely knew. Of course there was still a little part of her that loved him. She had even spent a long time believing that he was her one and only True Love, even after Tink had insisted that a man with a lion tattoo in an old pub was her True Love during her marriage to Leopold. Regina had lived her life thinking that she could never love again after Daniel, but when Emma tumbled into her life, she had, admittedly, changed her mind completely.

The guilt that lay in the pit of her stomach was filled with regret from the words that she uttered to Daniel and yelled at Emma. The things she had told Daniel the day before were empty words. She spoke from memories and heartbreak, not from what her heart was actually telling her. She knew that she was in love with Emma, but she couldn't bring herself to admit to Daniel or herself that she didn't love him anymore.

All she could think of that night when she went to bed was how Emma must have been feeling whilst she listened to the conversation she had with her stable boy. It had been merely moments before that they had confessed their underlying love for each other and Regina had changed completely within a matter of seconds. Emma had enough trust issues as it was and clearly she didn't need to think that she couldn't trust Regina. She hated herself for putting the blonde through such a conversation, but she knew that for her own good she needed the conversation.

Her feelings for Emma had been hidden as she attempted to keep them dormant and deep in the back of her mind for the entire time they knew each other. The more Regina thought about it, the more she came to realise that Emma had invaded her thoughts on countless occasions, even before the curse broke. Emma was undoubtedly beautiful and Regina, who had spent many nights in the Enchanted Forest with women in her bed, couldn't help but notice her natural beauty.

The blonde constantly sparked something exciting within Regina. There was just something about Emma that made Regina go involuntarily weak. She only hoped that tonight the spark would bring something more than excitement between the two of them.

As Regina aggressively threw about almost every item of clothing in her closet, she almost considered cancelling on Emma by coming up with the petty excuse that she had come down with the flu or something, but quickly decided against it when her phone vibrated to signal a text.

Sheriff Swan: _hey, is this gonna be formal or casual, cos i dont wanna look like an idiot. x_

As she read the text, Regina couldn't help but chuckle at how nervous Emma seemed, even through text. She didn't want either of them to feel uncomfortable in each other's presences, so she sent a quick text back and knew exactly what she was going to wear as she finished off her second glass of wine.

*#*#*#*

"I am not wearing a dress if I'm going to look pathetic, Mary Margaret." Emma huffed, still standing in just a bra and sweats with her arms folded across her chest like a child. "Let me just text her first - if she wants this to be all posh and shit then I'll wear the dress. But if she says casual then I'm wearing my jeans and my leather jacket."

"Fine, text her. But Em, you know how much she hates that jacket. She would probably burn it if you set it down anywhere."

Emma knew her mother was right, but sent her text anyway. She had expected a long wait and a pathetic two-word reply from the mayor, but was pleasantly surprised when a reply came through only moments later.

Madam Mayor: _You're not going to look like an idiot, dear. Just wear whatever you believe to be adequate and comfortable. Could you grab us a bottle of rosé on your way over?_

"Gimme the dress," Emma said as she threw her phone onto the bed and walked towards her mother with grabby hands. "She wants me to wear whatever I'll be comfortable in, but looks adequate, so obviously that means she wants me to make an effort. And we're drinking rosé."

"Rosé is your favourite... How does that have anything to do with making an effort?" Mary Margaret asked, gladly handing over the dress and considering how she can hide the red leather jacket that Regina hated so much.

**_'You know, you didn't have to text me, Miss Swan.'_** Regina's voice startled the blonde as she attempted to pull the skinny red dress over her head.

**_'Actually Madam Mayor, I didn't want to give you a heart attack if you were in the shower or something. Isn't that something that could earn me a restraining order or a fine for invasion of your privacy?'_** Emma tried to keep a straight face as she pulled the rest of the dress down her body to fit perfectly on her curvaceous hips and waist.

**_'I'm sure you would have found a way to ignore that like you do with every other piece of legal documentation, my dear.'_ **

"Emma, you're laughing to yourself, sweetie." Mary Margaret said as she watched her daughter stare off into the distance and chew her bottom lip. "But if it's any consolation you look absolutely breathtaking in that dress."

Bringing herself out of her Regina induced daze, Emma stood in the middle of her bedroom in the little red dress that she was wearing on her twenty-eighth birthday. The very same dress that Henry saw her wearing before he dragged her all the way to Maine. Admittedly, she never wore dresses, but since this was a make or break night, Emma knew she had to step a little out of her comfort zone and wear her favourite dress. It clung to her in every flattering area and never failed to turn heads whenever she wore it in Boston.

She hadn't even realised that she still had a smile plastered on her face until she turned to look at herself in the floor to ceiling mirror on her wall. Mary Margaret was right - she did look breathtaking. The dress reached her mid-thigh and actually fit better than it ever had. It even made her boobs look bigger.

"So, what were you laughing about?"

"Regina," Emma didn't even give her answer a second thought as she watched herself move in the mirror. "I mean; I was thinking about what Regina text."

"You know you're not a very good liar, right?" Mary Margaret folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow at her daughter. "I know the side effects of true love; they're different for everyone. Mine and your fathers is the fact that we always know where each other are. Some people can feel each other's emotions and others are said to be able to have a telepathic connection with them."

"Why are you acting so bipolar about this stuff? I thought you didn't believe what I had with Regina was true love..." Emma watched her mother in disbelief behind her in the mirror and shook her head at what she had said in some form of a silent apology. "Telepathy. We can talk to each other through our minds. It's like we're constantly in the middle of a call."

"Oh, so she actually made you laugh?" Mary Margaret's tone sounded genuinely surprised.

"As much as you would hate to hear it, she does actually have a sense of humour underneath her bitterness and sass." The blonde rolled her eyes and played with the hem of her dress as she turned to face her mother. "She was making a dig at me. I don't even know if it was a flirt..."

"Emma, honey, I know you want this to work out and whatever, but she was my step-mother and I would much rather avoid hearing if she's flirting with you." She muttered behind a blush, hoping that Emma wouldn't be too offended.

"Hey, you asked!"

Mary Margaret threw her hands up to surrender and bit back a laugh, knowing all too well that if her daughter's relationship with Regina actually worked out she would be hearing about a lot more than just flirting. As she thought about it, she had never actually seen her daughter so happy, even if she did have a little bit of a nervous breakdown before she finally settled on what to wear. She constantly contradicted herself. She wanted nothing more than to see her daughter happy, but if her happiness included Regina, she couldn't help but want to end it before it even began.

"Mom!" Henry screamed from the first floor of the apartment. "Mom, I have to be at Mr. Gold's shop in fifteen minutes!"

"Shit." Emma muttered as she attempted to pull on a pair of red stilettos that matched her dress perfectly. She had already curled her hair and fixed her make-up to look almost natural, so all she needed to do before she got to Regina's was to take Henry to Gold's shop and grab a bottle of rosé. That was of course, if her nerves held up long enough.

Plummeting down the metal staircase of the apartment and startling Henry, Emma grabbed, her purse, car keys and Henry's overnight bag long before Mary Margaret had even descended the stairs.

"Calm down, Emma." She chided as the blonde sped past her to grab her new black leather jacket off of the coat rack by the door. "Just relax and enjoy your evening."

Emma let out an exasperated breath and recomposed herself before turning to face her mother.

"Thank you - for everything." Emma smiled and ushered Henry quickly out of the front door before shouting over her shoulder as she followed her son. "See ya' later!"

As soon as Mary Margaret was left alone, she let out an identical sigh to her daughter's and let herself slouch onto the staircase. Everything about this situation irritated her. Firstly, she had annoyed her husband by lying to him (resulting in David walking out of the apartment and not returning until the early hours of the morning to sleep on the couch), then she had irritated both Emma and Regina when she burst into the mayor's front yard with the Blue fairy; and lastly, she was mad at herself for believing that she would be happy to see Regina break her daughter's heart.

She hated herself for even thinking about such a thing, but she knew, somewhere inside her, that Regina would break her heart in one way or another and her mother would be the first person Emma would run to.


	9. I Can't Love You

**CHAPTER NINE - I Can't Love You**

When Emma arrived on Mifflin Street, her anxiety levels had risen to an all-time high. The blonde had never been someone to have nervous tendencies, especially not around Regina Mills, but this was different. These nerves were something Emma hadn't felt in such a long time. They were her anxious reminder of her desires to be wanted, accepted and cherished. Her desires to be wanted by Regina were overwhelming to the point where Emma had begun to hold the rosé bottles in her hand tighter than she should, feeling like she could shatter the glass between her fingers.

She had made it to Gold's shop with at least a few minutes to spare, leaving her fortunate enough to miss an awkward conversation with Neal, who was still getting Henry's room ready at his father's estate. With Henry comfortable in the presence of his father's family, Emma headed to the liquor store on the very same street and grabbed two bottles of wine - just in case - before making her final journey to the huge mayoral mansion in the quietest part of town.

On several occasions Emma contemplated turning around and cancelling on Regina, simply because she couldn't guarantee that her nerves would hold up long enough for her to cross the threshold of the house. But the teeny-tiny Charming genes inside her begged her to pursue the date as confidently as she could manage; when in reality, she knew she was going to be a fumbling mess from the get-go. She knew she had to do this and she definitely knew that it was going to be an uphill struggle for a little while.

What Emma didn't know was that the ever infamous Evil Queen was just as nervous as she was. Maybe even more; which Regina would deny until the day she died, of course. Truthfully, the brunette was terrified. The last time she was told about her true love, she ran away and lost the only person she had ever called a friend; and something deep inside her was telling her to run again. She couldn't give Emma the happiness and the life she deserves. She couldn't give Emma the family she wanted. And she definitely couldn't give Emma someone to love. The Evil Queen couldn't be loved. She had far too much baggage and a history that could make a mass-murderer cringe.

Something inside her begged her to push Emma away and let her run into the arms of her first love and Henry's father. They could make a family. Neal could make Emma happy and Henry would have a father, his parents together and a proper family without the disapproving on-look that the Evil Queen raised him.

Then it dawned on her; Regina loved Emma far too much to watch her walk away. She undoubtedly wanted Emma as if she couldn't live without her - which was probably true since she couldn't take her mind off the infuriating blonde for at least a second. All of her reasons for loving or pushing away Emma were selfish reasons that would probably only benefit Regina's ego more than anything else.

The more she thought about what she could and couldn't give Emma, the more she drank the rosé she had opened whilst getting ready. The bottle was half empty and her glass had been abandoned after her first top-up. Dropping herself onto the bottom step of the staircase, Regina made up her mind about her situation with Emma. She couldn't love her.

*#*#*#*

After spending a few minutes pacing the porch of the mansion, Emma finally plucked up the courage to knock the door. She expected Regina to yell at her to let herself in, especially with her front yard filled with the ghosts of her past, but Emma definitely didn't expect the response she received.

"Go away, Miss Swan." Regina barked from inside the house. "I've made up my mind and decided that we're not doing this. It's ridiculous."

The blonde's stomach dropped. She felt like the brunette had hit her with a truck and completely flattened her. Of course, Regina couldn't love her. She was going to abandon the blonde like everyone else in her life had. That was the way life was for Emma Swan. Every glimmer of hope was instantly plucked away from her before she even had time to cherish it. Then she got landed with a kick in the teeth and a gut wrenching reality.

"No way, Regina," Emma said after a pregnant pause. "We're going to talk. We're going to spend this evening in each other's company and actually enjoy it. You told me about how Tink believed that a man with a tattoo was your True Love and that you ran away because you were scared. This is what you're doing now. You're scared and you're trying to run from it. I know that it's scary; I get it. I do. But Regina, you have to trust me on this one. This could work. We could work. Don't say we're not right for each other, because the only way I see it, we might not be right for anyone else."

"Miss Swan, I would appreciate it if you got off my porch and drove away in that stupid little bug of yours. I am not interested in this." Emma could practically feel the fear that laced Regina's voice as she shouted through the wooden door to the blonde.

"Regina, please just open the door." Emma begged as she slammed her hand onto one of the white pillars surrounding her.

"Miss Swan, don't make me call your deputy to have you removed from my property."

"For fuck sake," Emma muttered quietly enough to be missed by Regina. "Regina, open this door right now. I know you're scared about all of this. I am too. Hell, I'm so scared that I had to pick up another bottle of rosé at the liquor store because I didn't think my nerves would hold up enough if we shared just one." Through the door Emma missed the faint smile that graced Regina's lips as she leaned against the door to listen to the blonde fighting her corner. "Regina, you deserve a chance. You deserve a second chance at life and love; and I want a chance to give you that. I've never really had much luck in that area either, but I wanna try. I do love you, Regina and I want a chance to prove that to you. So please, open the door." Emma waited through another pregnant pause and bit back a sigh. "Just don't make me break down the door. I've done that far too many times and I kinda wanted to kick the habit with you."

Another smile took over Regina's lips for a mere second. "I refuse to do this, Miss Swan." Regina huffed as she pulled the door open enough for Emma to squeeze through the small gap.

"If you were really that certain, Regina, I would have had to break open the door," The blonde slid her leather jacket off her shoulders in one swift movement and hung it on the stand before taking a breathless look at the brunette before her. "You look beautiful by the way." Emma shifted on her feet, trying to hide how often she was looking at the brunette in her knee high, and black fitted dress. "I brought the wine, so you can grab is some glasses and we're going to talk about this, okay?"

Before Regina could even open her mouth to protest, Emma walked around her and into the living room. Clearly the blonde had no issues with making herself at home in the mansion. With the most graceful slump possible, Regina took her own sweet time in finding two wine glasses for herself and Emma in the hope that by the time she had returned either Emma had chickened out and run off, or her nerves held up long enough to have this conversation with the Saviour.

"Emma, you look stunning." Regina stated as she reappeared in the doorway of the living room. "I know that skinny jeans and those terrible tank tops are more your forte, but I really think you should wear dresses more often."

"I only wear them on special occasions," Emma winked as she took the glasses from the brunette. "But thank you."

Emma poured two glasses of wine in silence as Regina took a seat next to her on the long black leather couch that stretched out across the back wall of the room. They sipped in silence for a little while until Emma eventually roused enough courage to start a conversation.

"Why don't you want to do this?" Her voice was timid and quiet while her eyes remained locked on the rim of her glass.

Regina stared at her knees and allowed her thumb to circle the top of the glass. She wanted to do this. Actually, she had never wanted to do anything more than she had wanted this with Emma. This could be her second chance at life, love and forgiveness. But those reasons were selfish. How could she love Emma if their relationship was for selfish reasons? Regina wanted to change and the refusal of this situation would prove to herself that she wasn't selfish.

"I can't give you what you deserve." Regina started with a whisper. She cleared her throat and risked a look at the blonde. "I can't give you what you want. You would get nothing out of this, Emma. You deserve so much more than to be stuck in a relationship with the Evil Queen. I can't love you, I can't give you a family and I can't give you the life you deserve."

"If you can't love me, I want you to tell me that you don't love me, then I'll leave." Emma's voice was stern as she quickly looked to the brunette, who was clearly having an internal battle over this situation, and let her eye dart straight back to her glass.

"I...I can't," Regina stuttered and bit her lip violently. "I can't tell you that because I do love you, Emma, I just... I just don't want to see you unhappy in a relationship that you won't want in the future."

"But what if I do want this?" Emma's eyes barely budged from the glass, but she knew Regina was looking at her. "What if I want us?"

"Why, Emma?" Regina snapped, making Emma finally look at her. "Why do you want this? Why do you want me?"

"Regina, I know you don't understand how much I love you, but you need to know that through everything, I've always been able to see the good in you; even when you spent all of your time plotting against me. I saw who you were. I saw through your little façade and saw you. I saw the strong, powerful and independent woman that was too afraid to find love. I know what you've been through in the past; I know you've been hurt and used; but most of all, Regina, I actually understand it. I've been in abusive, obsessive, loveless relationships. I've even been in a relationship where I thought I had found the one, but I lost him. Not in the same way as you lost Daniel, but I still lost him." Emma took a deep breath before continuing but kept her eyes on Regina at all times. "I lost him when I got locked up. When Neal left me to pay for his crimes in that godforsaken prison cell he became dead to me. The man I loved had died in Neal's body. He doesn't exist anymore but I still love him. When you spoke to Daniel yesterday I saw in you what I see inside myself. You still love Daniel because he was your first love, I still love Henry's father because he was my first love. But Regina, everything you are, every part of you and your past I cherish."

Regina's jaw slacked a little as she stared at the honesty in Emma's eyes. Every world the blonde spoke was truthful, honest and completely heartfelt.

"Emma..." She breathed, feeling like something was trapped in her chest.

"What I deserve, Regina - what everyone else deserves, is love. You deserve love. If you're my True Love, Regina, and I am yours, it means that we are each other's happiness. It means that we are what each other want and deserve."

"Emma, I know and I love you; I really do. But you shouldn't be tied down to the Evil Queen without the chance at living a happy life." Regina let out a wobbly sigh as she held back the tears that threatened to spill.

Emma took the wine glasses and placed them on the coffee table in front of them before taking Regina's hands in her own. "You are not the Evil Queen anymore. The Evil Queen couldn't raise a child, the Evil Queen couldn't love another person and the Evil Queen certainly would have killed Snow White a long time ago. I know you still hate her, but seriously, Regina, you changed a long time ago without realising it. You're just Regina now. You're the woman I've fallen head over heels for like a teenager. As long as I have you and Henry in my life I will be happy. The happiest life I can imagine is me, you and Henry together as a family. That's what I want, and I know for a fact that it's what you want too."

"I can't hurt you, Emma." Regina smoothed her thumb over the top or Emma's hand that was clasped in her own, hoping to both comfort herself and the blonde from the small gesture.

"Then don't, Regina," The blonde squeezed Regina's hands and dropped her head. "Telling me to leave and that you can't love me hurts me more than anything. I know that you feel something for me and I know that you want this, so please, don't push me away."

Regina's breath hitched in her throat as she watched Emma's own tears begin to form in her eyes. The last thing Regina wanted to do was hurt Emma, but she was too afraid that the two of them would eventually be hurting each other in the long run. Emma had had her own fair share of abandonment and heartache, so clearly she understood why Regina was far too afraid to plunge into something so dangerous between the two of them.

"Emma, I don't know what to do," Regina sighed, making her voice barely audible, but Emma still caught it. "I really want to love you because I already do love you. But Emma, we fight all the time, your parents and I have tried to kill each other on several occasions and I'm too afraid to fall vulnerable to love."

"We don't exactly fight, Regina. It's more like sarcastic banter if we were to give it a name. Or maybe even sexual tension..." Emma let out a light chuckle and a little sniffle to keep the tears at bay. "I know about your past and I know who you were, but I'm fortunate enough to see you for who you are now - a strong, beautiful woman with her own demons. Everyone has demons, and sure, yours are a little vicious, but you can't let them drag you down forever! When we work together we are so strong, Regina. Love is strength, not weakness." The blonde left a small pause long enough for her to warn Regina of her next question. "Why do you think love would make you vulnerable?"

"Because every time I love someone they get taken from me." The brunette began, squeezing Emma's hand even harder in order to keep herself as grounded as she could without actually breaking the other woman's hand. "I loved Daniel and my mother killed him. I loved my father and I killed him to enact the curse. I love Henry and he was almost taken from us in Neverland. I thought I loved Graham until I saw how close the two of you became..."

"The reason you didn't lose Henry is because of how strong you were, Regina. You were so determined to get our son that your love was the strongest magic of all. You saved him because you loved him." Taking a leap of faith, Emma extracted one of her hands from Regina's and placed her palm on the woman's cheek. The touch was easily accepted as Regina leaned into it. "But I still don't understand why you had to kill Graham. We were never anything more than colleagues."

"I'm not too fond of the idea of sharing that information just yet, Miss Swan," Regina snapped as she pulled out of Emma's touched and extracted her hands from their hold.

"Regina, please don't do this. You're pushing me away again and you're hurting yourself more than anything else. If you don't want to tell me right now, you don't have to, but you need to know that I'm not going to judge you or hate you for the things you've done, okay?"

Quickly reaching over once more, Emma took Regina's hands in her own and hoped that the brunette would eventually look at her. The two sat in silence for a little while longer, until Regina looked up to find the blonde watching her every movement with a nervous demeanour. As soon as they made eye contact, Emma offered a light sympathetic smile to the brunette but remained silent.

"I want something to work out between us," Regina managed to stutter. "I want you to have your happy ending."

"My happy ending is yours, Regina." Emma leaned closer to the brunette until she could feel the other woman's breath. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Regina whispered before closing the gap, succumbing herself and Emma in a kiss that would have made their knees weak if they were standing.

In Emma's embrace, Regina always felt safe. Somehow, the blonde managed to transfer her thoughts and feelings into her touches; every stroke of her cheeks and neck felt as though Emma was worshiping her, every gentle movement against her tongue and mouth made her feel like Emma was savouring every taste. And in this moment, Regina felt truly and unconditionally loved.

*#*#*#*

Across the other side of town, David barged his way through the apartment door and passed Mary Margaret before she could even register his arrival. Warning off any possible arguments or questioning from his wife, David glared at the dainty brunette with his thumbs resting in his holster and his lips pursed in annoyance.

"Okay, I've had enough, Mary Margaret," He started, shocking the woman before him with the bluntness of his tone. "I know for a fact that you promised Emma that you wouldn't tell me her secret, but if the Blue Fairy knows and Archie knows, why the hell can't I know? I'm her father for crying out loud!"

"David, please…"

"With everything that we have ever been through not once has either of us kept something from the other. I need you to tell me."

Mary Margaret let out a huff of breath after a long pause and wrapped her arms around her torso as an attempt at self-comfort, which failed miserably when she looked towards her husband, who was still glaring at her. "Regina is Emma's True Love."

The glare on David's face instantly vanished and was replaced with a completely blank expression. Mary Margaret watched with confusion as her husband mulled over the newly retrieved information without showing any form of emotion through his schooled features.

"Please don't flip out at Regina," Mary Margaret started, unwilling to wait any longer for her husband's response. "Blue and I are trying to deal with all of this. Regina can't love Emma and she can't give her the life she des-"

"Wait, what?" David interrupted with a look that made Mary Margaret feel as though she had grown several heads. "How on earth are you and Blue trying to deal with it? Shouldn't Emma and Regina be spending some time together to get to know each other? For all we know, it could work out; I mean, it does sort of make sense — they balance each other out perfectly with good and evil, they make magic when they're together and it just… I don't know, they just work. Maybe they're just meant to be; maybe the curse was cast because of fate and destiny that they would find each other at the right time."

"You're _okay_ with this?!" Mary Margaret practically screamed as she advanced towards her husband. "How the hell can you be okay with this? Regina is the Evil Queen, David! She ruined our lives, she took Emma from us when she was born and sent us all here for twenty-eight years! She killed my father, her guards killed your mother and she constantly set out to pull us apart! Can't you see that she's doing it again? You seem happy with it, whereas she knew for a fact that it would kill me to see our daughter in her hands."

"This is ridiculous," David huffed and placed his hands on Mary Margaret's arms. "We're Emma's parents, Mary Margaret. We should be happy for her — we should be happy that she has found her True Love. Not many people do! And even though her True Love is the former Evil Queen, we need to have faith that Emma can break through that façade and bring out the Regina you used to know. The Regina you used to know was a woman in love; if she really falls in love with Emma, I can't see it being a bad thing."

Mary Margaret remained silent even after David had finished talking. Part of her knew he was right, but the part of her that had been fighting against the idea rose to the surface and managed to overpower everything else.

"We can't pick and choose who our True Love will be, Mary Margaret, you and I know that more than anyone else. You married a shepherd, for crying out loud; talk about descending trajectory. We should just be happy that Emma's happy ending will benefit so many people; including Regina, Henry and even us."

The brunette rolled her eyes at her husband's naïvety. "Love won't change Regina. Nothing can change her. Her heart is as black as the night and David, it can't be reverted. She can barely love Henry without lying or hurting him; can you imagine how it would be if she were to try and love Emma?" She stepped out of her husband's grasp and ruffled her pixie cut. "Emma's real True Love is Neal. He was her first love and he's Henry's father. They can be a family together — without Regina — they can give Henry the life he should have had when he was born. This is their second chance with him!"

"So what about Regina?" David quizzed with a raised eyebrow that made the woman before him uncomfortable. "What about the woman that raised and cherished him for the first eleven years of his life without anyone else? What, are they just going to leave her alone with the thoughts of the memories of a son she once had? Emma hates to see Regina upset, so there is no chance in hell that would happen."

"How can you even take her side on this?" Mary Margaret's voice almost crumbled at the question.

"I'm taking her side because I know what it's like to have a True Love that appears to not deserve you." David ignored the annoyed look that his wife gave him, but continued anyway. "I was a peasant, you were in line to be queen. Emma is the child of True Love, Regina was raised by the darkest hand. Emma is the Saviour, Regina is- _was_ the Evil Queen. How can you not see that this all makes sense?"

"I don't know…"

*#*#*#*

"Wow," Emma mumbled as she shoveled another forkful of Regina's chicken parmesan into her mouth. After their heart-to-heart conversation, heated make-out session and several glasses of wine in the living room, Regina decided that they should eat the meal she had prepared for them, rather than letting it go to waste - which apparently Emma was incredibly grateful for. "This is actually amazing, Regina."

The brunette attempted to hide her blush behind her wine glass, but remained quiet. Emma had complimented her food on several occasions, but tonight, something told Regina that this was different. Of course, she had wanted to impress the blonde, but never truly believed that she could succeed.

"You know," Emma started before swallowing her mouthful of food. "As amazing as this meal is, I don't think we should class this as our first date."

Regina raised her eyebrows in question and tilted her head. "Oh? And why is that, dear?"

"Mainly because we spent the first hour and a half either crying or feeling overly determined about something that the other was quick to deny; and I'm pretty sure that that isn't how most first dates go." Emma smiled to herself before continuing, hoping that she wouldn't feel like an idiot. "Besides, I kinda wanted to take you somewhere romantic and attempt to woo you with my charm." Her little wink at the end of her statement was enough to make Regina chuckle.

"You are such an idiot," The brunette said through her laughter.

"Good, because I wanna be _your_ idiot."

Regina didn't even attempt to hide her blush this time. Instead, she reached over the table and took Emma's hand in her own; constantly feeling the need to be touching the blonde. Neither felt the need to say another word until they finished their food and emptied their wine glasses, to which Regina is grateful for, mainly because she was quickly beginning to feel the strong effects of the alcohol. Especially drinking an entire bottle by herself before Emma had even arrived, and now the two had drunk their way through the other two bottles that Emma had brought with her. So technically, Regina had literally drunk two entire bottles of rosé.

When she felt it adequate, Regina gave Emma's hand a light squeeze before letting go and attempting to gather their plates. As Regina was about to stand, her legs gave way and forced her back onto the dining room chair, earning an honest laugh from the blonde before her.

"How much have you actually had to drink?" Emma questioned as she swirled the last few drops of wine in her glass.

"Probably double whatever you've had." Regina deadpanned before letting out a gentle laugh and attempting to collect the plates once more.

"No, I've got those," The blonde said as she stood, taking the plates and cutlery out of Regina's hands and disposing of them in the kitchen. "I think we should get you into bed."

"Well, someone's eager," Clearly the brunette's witt hadn't been affected by the large quantities of alcohol that she had consumed.

"Very funny. I'm a Charming, remember? I either do this the honourable way, or I don't do it at all." She offered Regina her hand and pulled the brunette out of the chair, thankful that she had a good footing when the brunette practically collided into her side. "How would you manage without me, huh?"

Regina stifled a laugh and wrapped her arm around Emma's waist for a supportive crutch as they headed towards the staircase. "I would probably be sober."

"Wait, you only drank because of me?" Emma asked as soon as the brunette's words sunk in.

"I might have opened a bottle of wine before you arrived in an attempt to calm my nerves, and I may have finished the entire bottle while we were having our conversation through my front door." Regina suddenly found the floor fascinating since she was attempting to avoid the blonde's disapproving glances.

Abruptly stopping, Emma pulled Regina firmly into her arms and tilted the brunette's head to face her directly as she searched the brunette's eyes for the truth and found it instantly. Doing what Emma does best, she pulled Regina into a deep a passionate kiss, guiding her tongue across the plump bottom lip to gain entry. Her entrance was hungrily given as Regina's wine soaked tongue slid against her own, making the feeling tingle throughout her body and straight to her core.

As much as Emma wanted to continue kissing Regina and possibly taking the woman to bed, she knew how much she would regret it in the morning if she had slept with Regina when the woman was barely able to walk. So, following her Charming genes, Emma pulled away from the kiss to face a very irritated brunette who was determined for more.

"Regina," Emma gasped through their kisses, "Regina, we can't." She took Regina's shoulders in her hands and lightly pushed her back, but keeping her upright at the same time. "The first time we do it, we're going to be sober, okay? I wanna be the honourable one between us."

Regina pouted a little, making Emma avert her eyes to avoid falling for her tricks. Instead, Emma lifted the brunette into her arms bridal style and carried her up the staircase and into the master bedroom, where she managed to find Regina's pyjamas and instruct the brunette to change into them without any 'funny business'.

Once Regina was tucked into bed with a light kiss on her forehead, Emma left the room and descended the stairs to clean up their dinner dishes. There wasn't much mess, but after the fuss she had caused at the beginning of the night, Emma knew that it was the least she could do; especially since it would get her into Regina's good books.

When the kitchen, dining room and living room were cleaned and tidied, Emma went off in search for a piece of paper and a pen to quickly jot down a little note for Regina to read when she woke the next morning. The gesture was simple enough, but Emma felt the need to thank Regina again and promise a proper date soon enough. She placed the note next to Regina's coffee machine, turned out all of the lights and took her leave, only briefly remembering about the spare key beneath the ivy plant pot by the side of the front door and locking up.

The night had turned dark quickly and Emma barely managed to guide herself through Regina's garden without walking into- _through_ one of Regina's ghostly reminders. That was until one of them advanced towards her, instantly knocking the blonde unconscious.


	10. Where Is She

**CHAPTER TEN - Where Is She**

As the blonde fell to the floor and her head ricocheted off the cold stone path, the tall dark figure that managed to catch her off guard glided out of the deep black shadows that were cast by the moon from the garden's inhabitants and stood to watch the blonde fall deeper into an unconscious state as blood began to pool around her blonde curls.

"It's a pity," The mystery figure started in a deep voice, pressing the sole of their shoe to Emma's cheek to tilt her face in order to catch the moonlight on her features. "You are actually rather beautiful, Swan."

With one swift movement of their leg, the figure dropped their heavy booted foot directly on top of the blonde's nose, instantly breaking it and allowing a morbid cracking sound to echo through the night air. Invisible to the sleeping world around them, the dark figure's sinister smirk would have given Regina's a run for her money. Once deemed satisfied with their work, the figure hoisted Emma into their arms and evaporated them out of the garden in a whirl of yellow smoke. The spilt blood included.

The pair reappeared moments later in a cold, dank and dark room that was clearly part of a basement somewhere in Storybrooke. With the blonde still unconscious in their arms, the dark figure carried her towards a hard metal table and roughly dropped her atop of it with a loud crash. Should anyone be around they would have undoubtedly heard the noise and come running, but with Emma's luck, no one did such a thing, so she continued to lay limp and unconscious in the presence of someone who clearly wanted her dead or at least seriously injured.

The figure circled Emma on the metal table before magicking a series of leather straps in their hand and immediately getting to work on strapping the blonde to the table as tight as they could; almost cutting off blood circulation in some places. Once the job was done and Emma was securely strapped to the table, the mysterious figure hovered their arm above the table, sending a bright yellow light coursing through the blonde's body and enacted a spell as a backup plan for the straps. Without waiting any longer, the dark figure disappeared a puff of yellow smoke, leaving the unconscious blonde alone and convulsing under the strength of the spell.

*#*#*#*

Regina's day had gone as well as she could have hoped, even with the one minor blip that she was willing to overlook, just for her own sake and sanity. With the town back in her hands, everything was running smoothly again for the first time since the Neverland fiasco. Whoever had run the office and the town while she was out of office obviously needed an award for _Storybrooke's Greatest Idiot_. Just the thought of someone else running her town and sitting in her chair made Regina unconsciously roll her eyes at their fatal attempt at doing such a huge job. It wasn't an easy job, she would give them that, but it wasn't exactly rocket science either!

The only things that had remained the same was her secretary, Lucy, and the Sheriff's department, of which she was incredibly grateful for. While they had all been absent and wandering the jungle of Neverland in search for Henry, a few of the dwarves and Ruby took over the Sheriff's station; making Ruby acting sheriff instead of second deputy and Grumpy first deputy. Having a few extra dwarves in the sheriff's department was the only stupid decision made, since Ruby's fiery side was believed to have surfaced, which made Regina undoubtedly impressed.

Lucy, on the other hand, had spent the entire time practically pulling out her hair at their idiocy. She had been fired three times by the new mayor (of whom Regina still didn't know of) for attempting to help them in daily duties that both she and Regina could have done in their sleep. Her usual mundane job had suddenly taken a turn for the worst, sending her into a downwards spiral of paperwork that had been refused to be done by whoever was in office. She had done more work out of her working hours than she had done when she was sat behind her desk for nine hours a day and five days a week. She was both physically and mentally exhausted, wanting nothing more than the former Evil Queen to return.

When Regina had returned to office in the previous week, she was actually stunned at her secretary's reaction to see her confidently gliding through the corridors of the town hall. Her little red-headed secretary even went as far as to hug the newly reinstated mayor. In almost thirty years of being mayor of the town, never was she once nice to Lucy, so the little unexpected hug was something that became a little bit of a reality check for Regina. Since then, she has tried her utmost hardest to be pleasant to her secretary, after all, she was practically her own personal little slave. She even gave her a raise after hearing what she had gone through in an attempt to keep the whole town afloat.

After spending the entire morning attempting to fix everything that had been mishandled — or not even handled at all — in her office, Regina had been pleased that her mind relaxed enough to begin wandering towards the blonde she had spent the previous evening with. Their night had begun with a little uphill struggle, but it actually reassured Regina that Emma was willing to fight for them. She was definitely in it for the long run.

That morning, the brunette had woken happily in her own bed with a small glass of water on her bedside table accompanied by some aspirin. Fortunately enough, it wasn't needed, but the thought the blonde had put into it made her smile anyway. The smile even remained after she had showered and made her way downstairs for her morning ritual of a mug of black coffee and an apple. Before Emma left, to Regina's surprise, she had cleaned the entire kitchen and prepared the brunette's breakfast by the side of the coffee pot with a little note.

After thoroughly enjoying her breakfast and rereading Emma's note several times, Regina tucked the piece of paper into her blazer pocket and gladly made her way to the town hall to start her day with her mind permanently transfixed on Emma. Everything had been running smoothly until her lunch break, when she was supposed to meet the mind-invading blonde for lunch at Granny's. When Emma failed to show up, Regina took her lunch to-go and settled that the only reason for Emma missing their lunch date was because she was dealing with shenanigans, since everything seemed to be going wrong with the town's behaviour lately. She hadn't even considered calling her or attempting to talk to her through their telepathic connection.

The more she thought about Emma and her reasons for bailing, the more she failed to realise how fast time was going and before she knew it, Mary Margaret had thrown herself through her office door with a death glare painted over face. Without a doubt in her mind, Regina had already prepared herself for a little confrontation with Emma's mother about their situation.

"Where the _hell_ is she?" The pixie cut brunette screeched as she advanced towards Regina, who was still peering down at paperwork with a bored look on her face. "What did you do to her? I know it was you! She trusted you and you used it to your advantage to get back at me."

"Ms. Blanchard, I don't have the time or the patience to listen to your incessant rambling." Regina said before finally deciding to look up to the woman now standing before her desk. "What is it you wanted, dear?"

"Emma. I want Emma." Mary Margaret deadpanned as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Regina raised an eyebrow at Mary Margaret's bluntness. "What _are_ you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about; you've abducted Emma. This was your plan all along, wasn't it? You planted that little 'True Love' image in my daughter's head just so you could get back at me and have Henry all to yourself, didn't you?"

"Ms. Blanchard, I have no idea what you're implying here." The brunette let out an exasperated sigh and pushed her paperwork forward before readjusting her regal position on her chair. "In fact, I don't even know what you mean."

"Of course you don't," Mary Margaret muttered under her breath, barely loud enough for Regina to catch, but it was understood clearly and simply made Regina smirk. "Emma didn't come home last night. She didn't turn up for work this morning. There's no answer from her cell and _you_ were the last person to see her yesterday. So, where is she?"

Before Mary Margaret could even finish her question, her previous accusations hit Regina like a truck — instantly making her stomach drop and her face to dangerously pale. Her thoughts of the blonde flashed before her mind as she thought about what could have happened to her since their dinner the previous night.

"She's missing?" She managed to mutter.

"Don't play stupid with me, Regina." Mary Margaret forcefully bit as she leaned onto Regina's desk with her hands, bringing her face impossibly close to Regina's, who would have been intimidated if she didn't know who the woman before her was. "I know you've kidnapped her, but I want to know why and I want her back."

"Stop being such an idiot, Snow!" Regina yelled, actually surprising herself at the reaction. Ironically, she was just as afraid as the woman before her, apart from the fact that she had no idea where Emma was, whereas Snow seemed to have a strong argument that Regina had abducted her baby girl, giving her some sense of comfort.

Before Snow could reply to Regina's shortness, David came sprinting into the mayor's office to find his wife face to face with his daughter's True Love and the former Evil Queen with a murderous look on her face.

"Mary Margaret, wait!" He shouted, grabbing his wife's arm and pulling her around to face him. "You can't blame Regina for..." David glanced over to the brunette sat behind the desk with an empty look on her face and tears in her eyes. "You had no idea, did you?"

"No, I didn't." Regina ironically chuckled as she bit back the tears that were forcing their way to her eyes. "Emma left my house after our dinner last night and promised to meet me for lunch today. When she didn't turn up I expected her to be out dealing with something that she couldn't delay, so I didn't bother to disturb her…"

Regina took a deep breath and reached for the note in her pocket, gripping it tight and almost crumpling the paper into a ball. Other than when Henry was abducted, she had never felt this worried for someone in her life. She needed a little reassurance from the blonde, so clearly her note was the only thing to keep her as calm as possible without forcing her into seriously hurting Snow.

"She's lying." Snow insisted as she watched her husband's sympathetic look find its way to Regina.

"No she's not, Snow. Just look at her." David pointed to Regina, who was currently lost in her own thoughts, worrying about Emma's whereabouts and the blonde's safety with the most vacant look in her eyes that actually made David worry. "Remember when we blamed her for killing Archie and she had no idea what we were talking about? This is the same thing, except she's actually distraught this time." He hissed through gritted teeth. "I believe Regina and I trust her. So does Emma. That should be good enough for you to trust her too, Snow."

"You're being ridiculous, David!" Snow screamed, dragging Regina out of her thoughts and back into the present.

"The only one being ridiculous here, Snow, is you." The irritated brunette pushed herself up out of her chair and quickly brushed off her pants. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to excuse myself from your pathetic accusations and do something about all of this and actually find Emma."

Snow bit back a scoff when she noticed that Regina was still clutching onto a crumpled piece of paper in her hand as if it was her life support and the only thing keeping her stable.

"Regina... What is that?" The former school teacher questioned with a pointed look towards Regina's hand.

"What is what, Snow?" Regina bit back, hoping to get away from the Charmings as soon as possible and practically praying that Snow would soon drop the subject of what she had in her hand.

"That piece of paper you've been clutching since I told you that Emma was missing." Snow said, matter-of-factly.

"It's nothing; just a piece of scrap paper is all." Quickly putting the note back into her pocket, Regina flicked her wrist as if to dismiss the couple before her.

"Let me see it." Snow deadpanned, obviously ignoring Regina's previous dismissal.

"What makes you think it has anything to do with you?" With raised eyebrows and a dangerous eye-roll from the pixie-cut, Regina gave in. "Fine, it's a note that Emma left in my kitchen for me last night."

"Why would she leave a note for you if you spent the entire evening together?" Snow pulled a face and instantly became suspicious again when she saw Regina's hesitation. "Why did she leave the note, Regina?"

"I might have drunk a little too much wine to settle my nerves last night and Emma, ever the chivalrous knight, put me to bed and cleaned up after our dinner." Regina embarrassingly admitted. If Snow hadn't been so determined to get every detail out of Regina she would have attempted to ignore it and push her away, but there was no way of getting out of this one. "Before she left she must have written this note and left it on my kitchen counter so I would see it this morning. Is that okay with you?"

"No, not really." Snow demanded with her arms folded across her chest. "What does it say?"

"Snow..." David warned as he placed a hand in the small of his wife's back.

"No, David. Emma is our daughter and we have every right to know what she said in that note!"

Begrudgingly, Regina eventually handed over the note for Snow to read. Although the paper was now incredibly crumpled and creased, Emma's handwriting was still as illegible as it had been without the creases.

_'Regina,_

_Thank you for tonight. I know it was difficult for the both of us, but I think it will only make this whole thing easier for us in the future. I hope this wasn't too much for you because I really want this to work out between us and I know that you do too, but it's obvious that you're scared. I need you to trust me that I'm not going to leave and I'm not going do anything to hurt you - you've had all of that and you don't deserve it again._

_I already have an idea in mind for our first proper date. And just to warn you; it's going to be one of those mushy movie-romance types of dates because that is something you_ _do_ _deserve. I also think you should meet me for lunch at Granny's tomorrow. ;)_

_Love you,_

_Emma_

_x_

_PS. When I washed up, I kinda put everything where I thought it goes, I'm not sure if it's all in the right place, I just didn't want you to wake up to that mess! Thanks again._

_PSS. Hopefully you haven't woken up with a hangover this morning!'_

With a stunned look on her face, Snow handed the note back to Regina, who was standing tall with raised eyebrows and a questioning look plastered on her face.

"I'm not sure if you were expecting a ransom note or something that could possibly hint at where I just so happen to be hiding your daughter." Regina snidely remarked with a smug look on her face, even if her terrified eyes did betray her in every sense. "But I do hope that you found what you were looking for, whatever that was."

"She...she doesn't love you...she can't." Snow stuttered through the fury that was quickly building inside her.

"Out of all of this," Regina waved the note before continuing, "You picked up on the fact that she simply signed off with the words 'love you'?" Of course, to Regina, those simple words weren't actually simple at all. Just the smallest gesture as such made her heart race and the butterflies in her stomach flutter more than ever. She hated how fast she had fallen completely in love with Emma, but it also intrigued her more than she cared to imagine. "You know what? I don't care what you think about all of this; I have loved your daughter for quite some time and whether you like it or not, I'm going to find her, because clearly you're more concerned in trying to blame me than you are at actually finding her. For all we know, she could be hurt or in some serious danger; so waiting around here and arguing isn't going to get us to her any faster."

Before Snow could even open her mouth to argue, Regina had grabbed her purse and cell phone from her desk and stormed out of the office with a murderous glare on her face and desperation drowning in her eyes that only David seemed to notice. She needed to find Emma and as much as she hated to admit, she needed to prove to the Charmings that she was worthy of loving their daughter.

"You have to stop this, Snow," David argued as soon as Regina was out of earshot. "Regina is right; we need to focus on finding Emma before sticking the blame on anyone. The sooner we find Emma, the sooner we find out who did this. But you also need to apologise to Regina because she isn't the one that has done this."

"You don't know what, David!" Snow bellowed, pulling herself away from her husband.

"Actually, yes I do." He sternly stated and made Snow instantly turn to face him. "The way she reacted when she thought that Emma could be hurt or in danger. I recognise it. It's the same look that both you and I have when we think the other is in the same situation. She does love her Snow and together we will find her."

*#*#*#*

As Regina stalked out of her office, seething from her conversation with Snow and her pathetic little accusations, she completely misheard Lucy calling after her.

"Regina!" The redhead shouted as she cautiously grabbed the brunette's arm to grasp her attention. "Regina what on earth is going on?"

With a quick shake of her head to settle herself, Regina pulled her arm away from her secretary. "Sheriff Swan is missing and it's apparently my fault, so I'm going to find her."

"What can I do to help?" She asked, no longer feeling intimidated by the former Evil Queen and knowing exactly when she was both scared and telling the truth. "You look like you could use all the help you can get, Madam Mayor."

"Just cancel all of my meetings and make sure everything stays afloat again, Ms. Perriweather." Regina flashed a thankful smile before rushing out to her car.

Lucy overlooked the formal use of her name and got to work immediately. Regina was terrified and she knew it.

 ** _'Emma, where are you?'_** Regina asked and waited a while for her reply before asking again. **_'Emma Swan, don't you dare ignore me. Where the hell are you?'_**

**_'Please, Emma. Where are you?'_ **

Her attempts were futile and it only made her even more frustrated. How the hell could Emma get herself into this situation? Sure, her parents were idiots, but Emma had a fair amount more common sense than the Charmings had put together. Just the thought of those imbeciles made Regina's skin crawl; even if David had defended her, they were still stupid enough to run looking for a fight rather than looking for their _only_ daughter.

Regina attempted to telepathically connect with Emma several times before deciding to give up and actually search for her through town, starting with the Charming's apartment, even if they had said she wasn't there. She needed to try everywhere. And then it hit her. _She ran,_ Regina told herself. _She promised me she could handle this and she ran._ Before Regina could even begin to be mad at the blonde, a tugging feeling in her stomach forced her to focus on everything around her. The tugging feeling wasn't nerves; it wasn't worry — it was reassurance.

_She's still here._


	11. Weakness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains blood, violence and torture references.

**CHAPTER ELEVEN - Weakness**

The first thing that came to mind when Emma began to rouse from her unconscious state was the pounding and throbbing feeling in her head, and more importantly, her nose. Daring not to open her swollen eyes just yet, she allowed her mind to calm and relax enough to build up her hearing to gain a slight advantage to what she was about to wake up to. Sound familiarity was key in situations like this, especially if the room was either too light or too dark. All she remembered was being knocked out by someone or something in Regina's front yard as she left the mansion; there was nothing that could convince her otherwise that her attacker was someone that was definitely not a part of this new curse.

Fighting through the pain that was coursing through her entire body, Emma finally allowed her eyes to painfully open, welcoming her to the dark and dingy room she had been brought to. Having no idea where she was or how she got here, Emma began to inwardly panic. Sure, she had woken up in strange places on several occasions in her past, but she had only ever been kidnapped in Storybrooke once and that was by a madman long before the curse even broke and he forced her into making a hat that was actually a magical portal to her home world. So to Emma, the thought of being kidnapped now that the curse had broken worried her all the more. For all she knew, someone could be out for blood because she trusted and loved Regina, or just maybe because she was a royal. Either way, she had no idea; and that is what scared her the most.

She looked down from her unknown position and watched her chest frantically rise and fall as if she was experiencing a fit. Taking several speedy breaths to calm herself, Emma tried everything in her willpower to stop her body from convulsing like she had been transformed into a fish and dragged out of water. Every attempt was futile as she could barely move a muscle herself, leaving her with no choice but to allow her body to take over and stop fighting whatever was happening to her.

"Oh, I'm so glad that you've decided to finally join us, Saviour," A deep voice greeted from the darkest corner of the room, terrifying Emma even more, just because she didn't even recognise the voice and being the sheriff of such a small town, she practically knew everyone. "Don't attempt to move; you're magically paralysed and fighting it will only exhaust you to the point of serious fatigue, love, and that wouldn't be fun now, would it?"

Emma's breath caught in her throat, making her feel like she was suffocating. As she allowed the mystery man's words to fill her mind she began to realise that the only things she could do was think, breathe, blink and move her eyes. She had lost all control and movement of her mouth, her limbs and even her head. She fought to remain mentally calm as her body continued to pulsate as it inactively attempted to fight off the spell that was still consuming her.

"When we arrived, I put your body under the influence of a series of magical physical seizures. These aren't as violent as the others you experienced whilst sleeping, but you shouldn't worry too much about it now," He waved his hand over the blonde's body and instantly stopped her seizures. If she hadn't had her eyes locked on watching her chest violently shake like a fish out of water, she never would have known they had stopped. "I can already tell that this is going to be enjoyable."

There had been several occasions in Emma Swan's life where she had been in sticky situations where she either ended up in hospital or on the run from some psychotic maniac that still owed her bail money. But never in her life, even as a bail bonds person, had she been put in a situation like this. When her body had stopped their unnatural seizures and her skin was freezing to touch, Emma realised that although she couldn't physically move her body, she could still feel things on her skin and everything that happened inside her being. Now she was in trouble.

If this psychopath knew that she could still feel things in her paralysed state, she would, ironically, be royally screwed. The fact that he had magic too frightened Emma all the more. In her very short year of being exposed to magic, Emma knew that she still hadn't see everything there is to it, especially if the damn thing could ruin so many lives like she knew it already had.

Magic had never really scared Emma. She had been thrown in the deep end when the curse broke and never really had time to let the idea mull around in her mind long enough for it to scare her. In fact, ever since the curse broke she hadn't really had any time to think at all. Every spare moment in her life was either spent arguing with Regina, denying her feelings for Regina, thinking about Henry and his shared life between his three parents and the fact that she had finally found her parents, who just so happened to be the same age as her. And then there's also the fact that they were really Snow White and Prince Charming.

As she lay on the cold metal table, she finally allowed her mind to wander towards magic. She knew Regina was afraid of it, even if she did use a hell of a lot of it. The woman had a right to be afraid of it; her mother had used it against her as a child, she turned to dark magic during her darkest days, she let Rumplestiltskin of all people teach her the art of dark magic out of naïveté, her reign as the Evil Queen was practically overruled by her magical abilities and her downfall in life, and then there was the almighty curse – what she thought would be her new beginning and safe haven – actually came back to bite her in the butt. Magic had never really been on Regina's side from the start.

Emma, on the other hand, never had magic or even experienced it until she arrived at Storybrooke and broke the infamous curse with her son, so technically, anyone on the on-look of Emma's magical life would believe that the majority of her experiences were good ones, when in fact, Emma would strongly beg to differ. Before Storybrooke, the only magic she knew of was that in the Harry Potter series, and even some of that was bad magic. In a year, she had defeated a dragon without any magic, saved her son from a sleeping curse with a simple kiss, protected the Evil Queen from a wraith using her body as a shield, escaped an ogre in the Enchanted Forest, avoided a giant's wrath after climbing a beanstalk with Captain Hook and even sailed on a flying ship to Neverland; all without using her own magic. When she was being truly honest with herself, she knew she didn't need magic to survive in this crazy, non-existent, New England town, but sometimes there were perks. The main perks of the skill was the fact that she and Regina had managed to defeat Peter Pan to save their son and that she now had the ability to fetch whatever she wanted from the kitchen without moving from the couch.

So yeah, Emma could hate magic too. It hadn't really done her that many favours in her past; everything she had done, she had done it without magic. And this situation gave her all the more reason to hate it.

"Miss Swan, you know, I would love to just stand here and watch your eyes flicker as you think about your son and the woman you believe to be your True Love, but I have things to do, so if you wouldn't mind, I would like to begin now." The Mystery figure finally allowed himself to step out of the shadows and move closer to the blonde. His entire body was completely hidden by a long, sweeping black cloak with a hood that cast a dark enough shadow that hid his face in utter darkness. "Let's talk about what's going to happen, shall we?"

Feeling slightly ungrateful that she could still hear, Emma knew that if she still had control over her body she would have flinched at the sound of heavy chains and shackles crashing against each other as they were dropped from the ceiling directly above her. Before she could let out a scream in her mind, the chains stopped mere inches from her face and dangled before her as if to torment her even more.

"Who would have thought that the Saviour, our very own criminal, sheriff and princess would have been afraid of some shackles?" The man chuckled under his breath. "It's ironic; I would have thought that you would be rather acquainted with such devices, after all, that is what they use in prison, is it not?"

Had Emma been able to talk, she actually would have laughed at his naïvety and barked a few offensive comebacks. However, outsmarting the naïveté of hundreds of customers was definitely her forte; chasing down assholes that owed her thousands of dollars were often naïve enough to believe that she was completely harmless. She had worried that her capturer would have been someone like Greg and Tamara from the 'Home Office' in order to take her in for testing or something, but with the lack of knowledge of this world, Emma instantly knew that this was someone who had a grudge with either her, her family or Regina. Or maybe even all at the same time.

"Our little activity is going to involve you in the same position that I was when your dearly beloved had me trapped in her dungeons. Let's just say, this is going to be a little re-enactment and a slight enlightenment for you on whom Regina really was, and still is."

_'There it is.'_ Emma thought to herself with an inward eye roll that even Regina would have been impressed with. By process of elimination, it wasn't really that hard to see who her capturer held a grudge with, but now she knew for sure, it was just needing to put some pieces together to work out who this bastard was and what he wanted with her.

After an overly anticipated wait, Emma's arms, legs and torso were released from their previous leather straps and she could finally feel the blood coursing through her veins once more. The straps had been so tight across her that they had cut through her clothes and skin in several places, causing her to bleed out through her little red dress and onto the table. She had plenty of scars on her body, and these would merely be adding to her collection.

Unfortunately, patience was something Emma didn't enjoy to endure. Sure, she could sit out all night on a stakeout, but that would get her something she wanted. Whereas all of this? This was agonising. She let her body ease into a relaxed state in the hope that she would succumb to less injuries than she would had she been panicking.

"I wouldn't relax just yet if I were you, Saviour." The man gripped Emma's wrists tight and roughly pulled her off the table and onto the floor like she was nothing but a rag doll. She hit the cold, hard floor with a heavy slap, taking her breath from her lungs and sending sharp, agonising pains through her entire aching body. Her body hung limp from his grasp and her head lulled against her chest as she waited for the large shackles to be clamped around her wrists. There was, after all, nothing she could do to get herself away from it. "It's only fair that you experience the full Enchanted Forest royal treatment. Oh wait; you've already had that, haven't you? You were dragged behind a horse with your mother before you were both whisked off and treated like royalty, and that isn't fair, is it? What you need, Miss Swan is the Dark One's treatment. It's slightly worse than that of the Evil Queen, but I'm sure that the majority of people in this town have been through either hers or his at one point, so why not you?"

The shackles were quickly clamped onto her wrists and she was hoisted up into the air so her feet were barely touching the floor, not that they would do her much good, but the feeling of solid ground beneath her feet would have been somewhat comforting.

"Because I'm not all that dark and twisted as our favourite imp, I'm going to allow some leeway. When I ask you a question, they will be yes or no questions; I want you to answer with your eyes. Blink twice for yes, blink once for no. Got it?"

In the hope that she can distract herself from what's happening to her, Emma blinked twice in agreement as to indulge him in his little game. It's not as if he knew whether she was lying - the guy was an idiot after all.

"Great!" His voice sounded as though he was manically grinning, even though Emma still couldn't see his face. What she wouldn't do to be able to kick the shit out of this guy. "Now, if you answer one of my questions wrong, and I will know; you will receive your punishment."

Had she been able to, Emma would have gulped and at least attempted to swing at him, instead she limply hung from the ceiling by her wrists and willed that her head wouldn't loll around anymore than it already had because if she was entirely honest with herself, she was already beginning to feel rather dizzy and nauseas.

"Question number one: Are you happy with your life in Storybrooke?"

_Blink blink._

"Question number two: do you miss your life outside of Storybrooke?"

_Blink._

"And you've decided to test out my little lie detector." Emma visibly paled. The last thing she wanted was to leave Storybrooke for good. Here she was happy, she had her family, and she had her son, amazing friends and a True Love that made her go weak at the knees by the mere thought. But what Emma did miss, was the freedom of the outside world. She couldn't exactly jump on a plane and fly straight across the ocean to some other country on a whim. There were far too many consequences involving the outside world.

The fear in her eyes must have been obvious as the mysterious psychopath that stood before her raised his hand quickly and swiped it through mid-air as if to swat at something. For a few seconds, Emma felt almost relieved that nothing had come from his attempt at an attack. That was until the pain hit her. Her mind wanted nothing more than to scream out in pain, but instead, the sound of her blood pounding against her ears was almost the same thing. She could feel the huge laceration that had appeared on her back where her dress dipped below her shoulder blades. She could even feel the blood trickling down her back and her legs. Her body needed to writhe in pain as she struggled to fight through to remain conscious. The pain was almost unbearable and this was just the beginning.

"Now, are we going to lie again, Miss Swan?" He asked as he raised his hand in warning once more.

_Blink._ Of course, it wasn't a lie, but if Emma was going to survive this seriously fucked up little torture game, she needed to abide by his rules.

"Excellent. Now, question number three: would you like to go back to Boston?"

_Blink blink._ She wanted to go back to Boston, yes, but going alone wasn't something that crossed her mind. If she ever decided to take a trip outside of Storybrooke, then both Henry and Regina would be accompanying her whether they liked it or not. They needed to see where she lived, what she had done with her life before Storybrooke and she just really wanted to take Henry and Regina to the most amazing pizza place in Boston.

"Question number four: would you ever go back to Boston with Neal Cassidy?"

_Blink._

"That's where you've become deluded, Miss Swan." He raised his hand again and Emma inwardly squirmed and screamed. "You have been convinced that your love for Neal Cassidy has dissipated and that you've actually fallen in love with the Evil Queen. As much as you like to admit that you're no longer in love with Neal Cassidy, both you and I know that your paths are intertwined by fate."

_'And a son,'_ Emma almost chided herself for being young and stupid enough to let him into her pants, but thought of Henry. He had wormed his way back into her life and into her heart faster than she could do anything to prevent it. She clenched her eyes shut in anticipation of a second laceration that she was positive would knock her unconscious once more, but the unconsciousness never came. Nothing happened and Emma only worried more.

"Since your answer has _obviously_ been drilled into your mind because of our dear Evil Queen, I'm going to spare you from another punishment." Emma inwardly sighed out of relief and prepared herself for his next question.

Rather than continuing with his questioning on the limp blonde once more, Emma's unknown capturer turned away from her and hoisted a large box onto the metal table in the middle of the room. Digging through the box and rattling glass against glass before pulling out a long blue vial with a small pipette, the man returned to Emma's side in silence. Without preamble, he roughly lifted Emma's chin so she was looking into the darkness of the shadow cast across his face.

"Do you know what this is, Miss Swan?"

_Blink._

"Oh, this is a personal favourite of mine." He started, dropping Emma's chin so her head lolled on her shoulders again allowing him the freedom to remove the stopper from the vial and extract some of the liquid with the pipette. "This liquid is from my home land. It's like a promise; you get to see exactly what will happen to your lover and your son if you don't comply with my wishes. Do you understand?"

He didn't need to lift Emma's face again to see her blink twice towards the floor.

"Did you know, _Saviour_ , that life gives you two options? It always gives you two options; either you do or you don't do something. Your paths are set out before your decision is made, so now, as you so willingly lied to me for the second time, you're going to see the path your life will lead to if you fail to do what I ask. Of course, you're probably trapped in that little tiny mind of yours thinking that not everything is that black and white. You would be right, no doubt, but the thing is: in the lands in which you and I were born happened to agree on one thing and one thing only. That black is black and white is white. There is nothing in between. You're either good or you're evil. There is no grey and there is nothing in between. Your _girlfriend_ or true love or whatever she is to you, is evil. I, very much like yourself, am good. I do things that help the people around me, instantly making me good."

_'_ _Good_ _doesn't knock a girl unconscious, magically paralyse her, and then torture her.'_ Emma thought to herself, wanting nothing more than to rip the guy's smug look that he kept so perfectly well hidden beneath the shadows. But she knew it was there. She could literally feel it mocking her.

Not wanting to think about anything anymore, especially thinking about Henry and Regina, Emma squeezed her eyes shut again and allowed her capturer to continue his shitty little lecture about how there was no grey in the lives of those in the Enchanted Forest and other surrounding realms. If she had been given this lecture over a year and a half ago, Emma would have nervously laughed and ran for the hills not long after calling a psychiatric hospital to get the guy locked up for an eternity. If she hadn't been paralysed, Emma knew she still would have tried to get the bastard locked up in some loony-bin hospital in the middle of buttfuck-nowhere just for the things he was saying. Then maybe, just maybe she could slowly begin to spill the information about her being locked up and hung up in some basement and maybe get him arrested.

Emma hadn't even realised that her capturer had stopped talking until she felt a strong, powerful blow to the stomach. He had kicked her so hard that she was almost certain that his boot could have gone straight through her if he really wanted it to.

"Would you look at that; you're not even listening to me anymore." He spat as he grabbed Emma's chin once more and roughly lifted it as far as it would go without lolling back towards the floor, causing her neck to make a sickening cracking sound. "Who shall we see first, huh? Henry? Or Regina? That would be my choice. Henry and Regina are my paths; if you disobey, my choice would be to choose between your dear boy and your new lover of who would go first. You see, I'm not a horrible person, so ultimately, I would choose Henry first. Why? Well, you wouldn't exactly want the boy to watch his mother perish would you?"

The thought of this bastard even laying a hand on Henry or Regina made every ounce of anger Emma had pent-up through the years began to bubble to the surface and her blood began to rise and fill her ears with an echoing thump. She felt physically sick just thinking of someone trying to hurt her family, she even managed to set off the pulsations through her body once more. The more her body unintentionally shook and seized, the more the metal shackles began to dig into her fair skin and slowly started to tear the swollen and bruised flesh, allowing her blood to freely stream down her arms.

"You're only going to make this worse for yourself, you know."

Taking Emma's face in his free hand once more, her capturer tilted the pipette towards her eye and squeezed out two drops before changing to the next eye, giving it the same treatment. He stepped back and waited for the effects to take place. Emma could have sworn she saw him smirking, but soon dismissed it when her head involuntarily fell forward and sent a huge shock wave through her body, leaving her with nothing but the image of Henry tied to a chair facing Regina, who was in the same position. Both looking terrified, exhausted and beaten. With a sharp swallow, Emma squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that the image would leave her mind and the tears in her eyes wouldn't fall. She couldn't show weakness.

The image in her mind didn't fade. In fact, with her eyes squeezed shut and the tears that filled her corneas, the images had become far more vivid and realistic. On several occasions she had to remind herself that these was just mind tricks and hallucinations.

"I love you, mom," She heard Henry mutter through his series of enervated sobs.

Before Regina could reply to their son, Emma heard the clattering of knives and a sinister chuckle. She continued to watch as the same man that was keeping her captive slowly walked towards Henry with a rather large kitchen knife grasped tightly in his gloved hand. He stood behind Henry and lay a tentative touch to the top of his head before running the flat side of the blade across his cheek, lightly breaking the rosy skin beneath it. The only sound made was that by Regina as she let out a little whimper at the sight of blood falling from her son's face. The tears Emma tried to hold in her tear-ducts were now falling freely; the sight of her son and her true love in such vulnerable and injured states made Emma want to surrender immediately.

"Actually," Her kidnapper's voice started, instantly stopping the images of Regina and Henry in her mind. "I think we should keep the rest of that one for later. Night terrors are good ways of communication, don't you think?"

The sickening laugh that followed taunted the blonde into feeling physically nauseous once again. The laceration on her back continued to bleed and slowly began to make her feel weak from such a high rate of blood loss. Her mind writhed in pain and begged to be rested, or at least paralysed like the rest of her body. Being trapped inside her own being was enough torture for anyone to deal with, but not being able to speak or cry out in pain or even move her body in the slightest way possible made everything feel worse than it already did for the blonde.

Her hair matted to the side of her head, dry tear tracks and mascara trailed down her face unto her chin, the red dress that had clung perfectly to her body was now drenched in blood and stuck to her skin in an uncomfortable way, her perfectly matching stilettos had snapped and did nothing to protect her feet from scraping against the floor as she hung from the ceiling. The chains around her wrists still cut through her delicate skin and merely added to the puddle of blood that was forming around her ankles. Emma was almost positive that anymore blood loss would cause her to black out, then who knows what would happen to her while she was out?

"I'm getting bored now, Swan," He circled the hanging blonde until he stood directly behind her and placed his hands either side of her head. "I want to hear you scream."

The harsh grasp around her head sent magic through Emma's veins and her mouth instantly opened, letting out a blood curdling scream. His hands released from her head and a sadistic laugh followed as he traced her neck with his finger until he reached the deep and oozing laceration on her back. Before she could attempt to coerce him away from it, he had already began to drag his finger through the wound and drenching it with blood. Emma screeched aloud through an agonised sob, spitting blood everywhere as she did.

"Hmm, you know I love hearing your voice," He breathed, gripping the back of her neck with his now bloodied hand and squeezing it tightly. "I'm going to ask you a few more questions this time and now you're actually going to answer me."

Emma let out a raspy moan of agony and attempted to spit out the rest of the blood that had been pooling in her mouth and running down the back of her throat. Questioning whether or not she was grateful to have her speech back, she managed to stutter out an agreed promise to answer the rest of his pathetic little questions.

"Question number five: are you in love with Regina Mills?" He squeezed tighter around Emma's neck, but not hard enough to stop her ability to speak all together.

"Y...Yes," She muttered in panic. She was in love with Regina, that was undeniable, but Emma knew that there was more to his question than she dared think. Clearly there were more people than her mother and the Blue Fairy that knew of their connection and disagreed with both her true love and her heart's desires.

"But that's where you're wrong, Emma," He roughly let go of her neck and pushed her head forward before circling her again to stand directly before her. "You don't love her; everything you have ever felt for that woman has been nothing more than mere lust and the desire to take back your son as you so rightfully deserve. That woman deserves nothing - especially not a princess and the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming at that. The Evil Queen deserves to suffer for all eternity."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Emma slurred, trying to lift her head but completely failing after remembering that even attempting to fight the enchantment around her would do nothing but exhaust her. "Regina has already suffered enough. She deserves to find love and actually be loved."

"She's even trained your loyalty in such a short time; how wonderful. Your parents must be so proud." He mocked.

"You're a bastard." She spat, sending droplets of blood under the hood of his cape that shadowed the face beneath. Even a blind man could have seen the smirk that he was fashioning under his personal shadows and Emma, for one, most certainly didn't miss it. "I don't even know who you are."

"Oh, but you will, Emma," He stepped closer than Emma believed possible, pressing his entire body against her own and reaching around to squeeze her ass. "You definitely will."

With one swift movement of his hand, his palm collided with the blonde's exposed temple - instantly knocking her unconscious once again.

*#*#*#*

Who would have thought that the Evil Queen would be feeling heartache for the daughter of Snow White? Regina most certainly didn't. She knew that love was unpredictable; she had already experienced that and it ended badly, that's why she was so terrified of Emma's disappearance. Everyone Regina ever loved was taken from her in a brutal way, but this time, Emma wasn't going to be added to that list.

Regina remained sat in her car thinking about Emma's possible location and why on earth she disappeared without a word. A throbbing and aching pain in the back of her head told her that she couldn't do this alone. As much as she hated to admit it, she was going to need the help of the two idiots. Charming would be game, but Snow, well, that would be a whole different scenario.

A quick tap on her window caused her to anxiously jump in the driving seat. It was Snow and Charming.

"Regina, I'm sorry," Snow shouted through the window, irritating Regina more than ever.

The older brunette rolled her eyes and pushed the driver's side door open. "For goodness sake, Snow. We don't need the entire damn town knowing our business, so could you please keep your mouth shut and stop yelling."

"I want to help you." Snow said quietly, but completely ignoring the way Regina had flipped so instantly. "I want to help you find Emma. She's my daughter, Regina, I just want to find her as much as you do."

"Good, then you can start by actually giving me some ideas of where you think she could be." Regina pushed herself out of the car and slammed the door shut. She folded her arms and uncharacteristically slumped against the side of the car. "I'm all out of ideas."

"Well, we know she's not at your place or ours or at the station," David started, using his fingers to count the places they had listed and considered. Regina could see how worried he was, simply from the way his hands shook. "Where is her car?"

"The cruiser is still outside my house. She must have drank at least an entire bottle of wine last night so she was sensible enough to leave her car. That also crosses out the possibilities of a car accident."

Just the thought of Emma being in a car accident made Regina feel sick to her stomach. And the worst part of all, at least a month ago she probably would have smirked at the blonde's idiotic driving and would have completely ignored the nagging sensation in her stomach to smother the irritating woman. That always happened. Whenever there was a possibility of Emma getting hurt or injured, Regina would always worry. A deep tingling sensation would grow in her stomach and she would panic, even if she hated to admit it to herself. She had always cared for the usually leather-clad blonde, no matter what. And until now, she and hated it.

"Was there anything out of the ordinary in your house or your front yard when you left this morning?" Snow quizzed, feeling even more anxious by the minute.

"No, there was nothing at all, apart from your daughter's fantastic cleaning skills." Regina confidently stated but received raised eyebrows and looks of disbelief from the two Charming idiots before her. "Look, I left my house at the crack of dawn this morning wearing sunglasses and a scarf around my head so I could only see in front of me; I didn't exactly want to start my day with the reminder of all of those people in my front yard. All I saw was my garden path and my feet as I walked. Is that enough evidence for you?"

"Regina, we don't mean to highlight your difficulties, we just want to find Emma" David tried, but was completely dismissed by an overly agitated queen-like flick of her wrist.

"All we can do right now is check if any magic was used in my yard last night. But I for one refuse to go anywhere near that lot without Emma in the middle of broad daylight." She stated with a glare at the younger brunette. "We need Gold."

"What about Blue?" Snow suggested, earning a glare from both her husband and her former step-mother. "What? She only ever wants to help Emma, maybe she can help us track her down."

"Any tracking will be done by either myself, Miss Lucas or Mr. Gold. And I'm pretty sure that none of us want Emma as the Wolf's lunch." Regina firmly stated as she pulled open the driver's side door. "The Blue Fairy will have nothing to do with any of this, do you understand, Snow?" When Regina received her anticipated nod, she got into the car and waited. "Get in the damn car. We're never going to find her if you just stand there like mindless idiots."

Reluctantly, the couple slid into the car and watched Regina with cautious eyes. Even after everything the three of them had been through over the past year, they still couldn't bring themselves to fully trust the former Evil Queen; after all, she did ruin their chances of raising their daughter and living out the rest of their lives happily in the Enchanted Forest. The grudge between them would always loom in the background, even if they did try their hardest to mask it beneath their familial ties.

"Would the two of you please stop looking at me like I'm going to instantly snap into 'her' and put you both under sleeping curses?" Regina snapped, breaking the silence after spotting the Charmings staring at her in the rear view mirror from the backseat. "As you can tell, and as Emma has told you several times, I'm not her anymore. That's what the curse did to me. It gave me another life and a second chance at being good. The past is in the past; at least try and let it go."

"We're trying, Regina, we really are," David said, pulling his eyes away from the dark brown ones that had locked on his own in the mirror.

"No, you're trying; she's just trying to hold onto the past and blame me for everything." Regina huffed as she sped onto Main Street.

"I don't know how to forgive you, Regina. Especially with all of this going on - you can't blame me for thinking that you have had a part in all of this!" Snow shouted, startling her husband into an eye roll of epic proportions.

"You can start by actually taking my word for it. Why is it that whenever something happens you always blame me? No matter what happens, all fingers are pointed directly at me. Try, for once, to actually take into consideration that I can be good; that I can do things for the greater good." Regina abruptly stopped the car outside of Gold's Pawn Shop and turned in her chair to face the couple sitting in the backseat. "This feud has gone on for far too long, Snow. Yes, I started it, but I want this to be over. The things that happened in the Enchanted Forest need to be separated from the things that are happening here in Storybrooke. We're in different times and places and the things that happened in our past need to be kept in that different dimension. Let it all be the fairy tale it always had been just for once. When we find Emma, you can go back to hating me, then you can explain to your daughter why you refuse to be civil with her True Love."

"Stop making me sound like the villain in this. You're the villain. You took away the happy endings; not me. I want my daughter to have a happy ending, that's why I don't like the idea of you and her."

"Oh, that's what this is about? You don't think that I can give Emma her happy ending?" Regina's glare had now turned into a scowl that made David look away out of fright. "Clearly you don't know your daughter well enough to know exactly what her happy ending is."

"And whose fault is that?" Snow snapped.

"We can all point the finger of blame, Snow. And I will take the blame for it because that curse not only started my happy ending, but it also started Emma's too. If we were in the Enchanted Forest, Henry wouldn't have been born, I still would have reigned over a kingdom as the infamous Evil Queen and Emma would have been living an incredibly unhappy life as a princess. Could you really imagine Emma prancing around a ballroom in a huge gown whilst hundreds of people fawned over her? Undoubtedly she would scoff at the idea. Henry is her happy ending. Having Henry and someone to love her is all your daughter has ever wanted. I love your daughter and she loves me. Have you ever even stopped to consider that maybe I can love her enough to give her that happy ending with our son?"

"Regina...I...I..." Snow stuttered.

"Save it, dear." Regina snapped, quickly climbing out of the car and slamming the door hard enough to make the windows of the car dangerously ricochet in their plastic and metal casing.

Not wanting to leave the mayor waiting any longer, Snow swallowed her irritation and anger towards the other brunette and climbed out of the car after her, shortly followed by David. The three bombarded through the delicate door - almost knocking the bell from its position above the door.

"Are you all so determined to break my little bell?" Rumple barked from the back of the shop. "That one is on its last legs and I do believe there was a closed sign being displayed in the window, dearies."

"Cut the crap, Rumple. We need your help."

The tone of Regina's urgency was enough to make Rumple poke his head around the curtain from the back room. He took in the sight of the three petrified royals and had to stifle a laugh. Could they ever take care of themselves for just one moment?

"Oh, your majesty, how did your date with Miss Swan turn out?" Curiosity killed the cat, of course, but Rumple wasn't a cat and he most definitely wanted the details on how such a controversial night panned out.

"Perfectly well, thank you," Regina started with a snarl as she noticed the look of amusement on the imp's face. "Actually, it was too good to be true. That's probably why Miss Swan has now gone missing."

"You never did have much luck with love, did you, your majesty?" Rumple's infamous giggle made a reappearance and instantly turned Regina's knuckles white as she slammed her hands on the glass counter between them. "Be careful, dearie, you don't want to break that as well."

"Wait, do you know anything about this?" Snow asked as she inched towards the two leaning over a glass countertop.

"No dearie, I don't." Rumple started, never taking his eyes off of Regina. "I just find it amusing that whenever our dear mayor here attempts to love someone, they get ripped away from her."

"Help us find her." The former queen growled, ignoring the jab he had just produced. "No one has seen her since she left my house last night."

"Why on earth would I want to help any of you? I'm not exactly going to get anything out of it, am I?"

"Could you just stop thinking about yourself for just a second?" Regina leaned closer towards the infamous Dark One and merely glared. "Emma is your grandson's mother. You're going to help us for Henry or so help me I will destroy you if it is the last thing I do."

"You need more threat material, dearie. That one is a little out of date." He snarled at the memory that would undoubtedly haunt the couple behind the former queen for the rest of their lives. "I'll help you. But only for my grandson and my son; after all, she is part of my family, is she not?"

Regina ground her teeth at Rumple's allegations and slammed her hand onto the glass countertop once more. "Shut up. Keep your hilarious remarks about Emma and Henry's family tree to yourself and simply help us. Do you think you can keep your head out of your own ass for at least five minutes just to help someone?"

"Wow, madam mayor, I do believe you have asked for my help at least five times since you made your grand appearance this afternoon. But you've missed one word, dearie." Rumple raised his eyebrows in anticipation and leaned over his cane, leaving the smallest gap between himself and the former Evil Queen.

"Please," She whispered loud enough for only Rumple to hear with an overly dramatic eye roll.

Snow and Charming shifted uncomfortably behind the brunette and watched the Dark One with baited breath. They knew how Regina would never beg, and to beg Rumplestiltskin to help her? That was almost enough to convince Snow that Regina actually wanted to help them find their daughter. It was definitely going to be a long journey to forgiveness for Snow, but something deep down had actually began telling her that if Regina succeeded in finding Emma, then their journey would be beginning soon whether they liked it or not.

With his little giggle and flamboyant hand gestures, Rumple finally agreed to help on one condition. "I want the deal we made to be sped up. If you and Miss Swan are so serious about 'giving it a go', I want you to prove it within a week of my finding her. Do we have deal?"

"Deal."


	12. Visiting the Convent

**CHAPTER TWELVE - Visiting the Convent**

Regina was barely surprised when Rumple agreed to help her and the Charmings in their search to find the Saviour; she was surprised, however, at the fact that she didn't question the Dark One in his shop about his reasonings for wanting the Saviour and the Evil Queen to form some sort of romantic relationship. True enough, he had told them on their first visit to the shop that their relationship would create some sort of counter-curse, but there was more to it than that and Regina knew it. Things with Rumple were never that plain and simple – there was always a catch or some sort of price, and this time, Regina wasn't sure if she was willing to pay it.

As the group rounded onto Mifflin Street, Rumple let out a little sadistic cackle from the passenger seat that made Regina want to reach over and choke every breath of air he had remaining in his lungs. Controlling her inner desires, Regina bit her lip and shot a malevolent glare to the imp, causing him to let out another bout of laughter.

"I'm quite surprised, your majesty," Rumple remarked as Regina put the car into park outside the mansion. "I expected them to be lining the streets for your head."

"Clearly you haven't seen my back yard yet." The brunette said without missing a beat. Even looking at her front yard filled with so many people made her grimace with the thought of what she had done to them. She didn't regret any of it, but she did wish that things had happened slightly differently of that she had maybe done things because she truly need to, not because she just wanted to.

From where Regina sat in the car, she could see the entire crowd in front of her house. Just the thought of being in front of these people without Emma was enough to make Regina feel physically sick. Somehow, the blonde managed to ease every impulse of anger, terror or pure hatred, something of which Regina was most grateful for. Never in her life had she been lucky enough to have someone like Emma to worry about her and the consequences she would have to face if she did something in particular. Even before they knew of their True Love, Emma had cared for Regina, even if she didn't care to admit it. Through the fights and their sarcastic comments, Emma always seemed to worry about Regina in one way or another.

"What did you expect me to do here, dearie?"

"Find out what happened to Emma. Whatever it was, it was magic. I want to know if it was 'good' magic or if it was dark magic." Regina stated, looking away from the people in her yard. "I already have a hunch if it's good magic."

"And who do you believe took your precious True Love?"

"The poisonous, blue _gnat_."

Rumple chuckled at the brunette, who was challenging her inner six year old by crossing her arms over her chest with a pout she expected no one to notice. He climbed out of the mayor's car and crossed over to the driver's side to open her door.

"Your majesty," He offered his hand to the woman who was still belted into the front seat.

"Did you seriously think that I couldn't do this alone?" She spat and swatted his hand away. "I refuse to go into that front yard, Rumple, that's why you're here – so I don't have to do it."

"Ah, you're afraid to face them without your Saviour by your side. Oh, you truly are the most terrifying of them all, aren't you?" He mocked with another giggle.

Before Regina could retaliate, Charming pulled himself out of the backseat and pulled Rumple away from the doorway. "She's not doing this; you are. Just do what Regina has asked and you can be on your way."

With a little shuffle, Rumple pulled out of Charming's grasp with a sarcastic smile and sauntered over to the front gate of the mansion. It was obvious to Regina that he was reveling in the thought of the former Evil Queen being tormented every time she looked out onto her yard. Just watching Rumple's cocky grin coerced Regina into thinking about all of the people he had seen and all of those that he hadn't. Hell, she didn't even think she wanted to know about the number of people he had seen in such a short time. She even began to pity Belle for having to witness the meetings he was probably having with the long dead.

"He hasn't seen anyone, if that's what you're thinking." Snow muttered as she leaned over from the backseat to remind Regina she was still there. "I spoke to Belle last night. Apparently, he didn't include himself in the curse for obvious reasons."

Regina gave a slight nod in thanks but kept her eyes on Rumple and Charming, who was now standing off to the imp's side with a grimace on his face that closely resembled the one on her own. Looking at the Charmings did nothing to take her mind away from Emma; in fact, the more she looked at them, the more she saw the blonde in her parents. The chin Emma shared with her mother, the smile she shared with her father, the confidence that she shared with the both of them – it was too much to even think about. But she couldn't stop her mind from travelling towards the blonde and her roots.

Regina didn't blame Snow for her hatred of the True Love she shared with her daughter. In fact, she respected it. If their roles were reversed, Regina knew for a fact that she would do everything in her power to stop her own daughter from falling in love with someone with such a dark and evil past; but since the roles weren't reversed and it was Regina that Emma was falling in love with, the brunette wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into her former step-daughter in a way that would remind the woman that she wasn't going to hurt Emma in any way shape or form.

A sudden flurry of light in front of her dragged Regina out of her thoughts and quickly brought her attention towards Rumple, who was currently waving his hand over the garden path and emanating a light blue glow from his hands. This shade of blue had never been a magical colour that Regina had seen before; especially not coming from the Blue Fairy. She silently cursed herself for being so adamant that Blue had been a part of this, but that hatred didn't last long when her mind began to wander in thought of who had done such a thing.

The blue light danced along the floor gracefully until a huge flash of light practically blinded the four outside the mansion. When Regina's vision stopped showing blotches of light, she was able to see Rumple attempt to gather himself and haul his body back onto his feet. Something had happened and Regina was unsure whether to chuckle at the fact that it had knocked Rumple to the ground or to get out of the car and demand what the hell happened.

For some reason, her body made the decision and soon enough, she found herself stalking towards her front gate with fury etched across her face.

"What the hell did you do?" She growled.

"Yes, I'm fine thank you dear," Rumple sneered, earning a glare from the former queen. "I attempted to transport myself to where the magic took the Saviour. The magic is not from the realm of our origins. This magic is from Arendelle. It's some of the strongest magic in all of the realms, so being unprepared, I wasn't able to break through the barrier spell around the place."

"I didn't think anyone here was from Arendelle," Regina mused as she attempted to think of who could have come through with the curse. "I visited Arendelle once when I was young by invitation of Queen Elsa and her sister, Princess Anna. I spent the majority of my time in my chambers after getting sick from spending too much time being forced ice-skating with the pair. So please, tell me how some idiot has managed to get to Storybrooke with full use of their magic."

"I don't know, I really don't know. The fairies took in a few Arendelle children and young apprentices when Elsa took the throne, but what happened to them, I don't know. For all we know, some of them could have come over with the curse."

"Can you get the coordinates for where the magic was about to transport you?" Regina asked, not wanting to dwell on the unknown for much longer.

"Let me show you, dearie." Rumple held out a hand for Regina to take, but before she took it, she instructed Snow out of her car and told the Charmings to hold onto either herself or Rumple.

Within seconds of taking Rumple's hand, the entire group disappeared in a burst of black smoke, leaving behind nothing but the mayor's Mercedes and a front yard filled with the reincarnated dead.

Simultaneously, across the other side of town, the quartet reappeared in the parking lot outside Storybrooke's rather large convent. With only two of the nuns actually capable of being able to drive, it was no surprise to the group that the parking lot held a single car that was shared between the entire nunnery.

Regina smirked as soon as she gathered her bearings, "I told you it was the blue gnat, did I not?"

"Blue didn't take Emma, Regina." Snow stated, pulling away from the other brunette in disgust. "She knows all too well to speak to me whenever she does something that includes my daughter. Some people actually have the common courtesy to do so."

"Are you accusing me of not being polite enough to let you know as soon as you became pregnant that your unborn child was going to be my True Love in another realm? Oh, please accept my apologies, dear. How rude of me?!" Regina rolled her eyes at Snow's idiocy and quickly turned to face Rumple. "Is the spell around the convent, or is this the closest you could bring us to the place?"

"It's not around the convent; but it's near." He nodded.

Returning the nod, Regina set off towards the convent with only one thing in mind: finding the Blue Fairy and ending her miserable life before it went on for another second longer. If the Blue Fairy had Emma anywhere near the convent's compound, Regina would not only be able to feel the blonde's presence, but she would be able to find her instantly – that was something the gnat clearly hadn't thought about.

Ignoring the sign on the door that notified any visitors that the nuns were currently in prayer, Regina pounded on the door in irritation. Of course they would be too busy praying to some god just to cover up whatever their Mother Superior had done. She waited a little while before pounding on the door again, receiving no answer once more.

Regina ground her teeth and instantly magicked the heavy brown doors open to reveal an empty hallway leading to a rather full chapel.

"Sorry I'm late," Regina announced as she glided down the aisle of the chapel towards the Blue Fairy who was standing slack-jawed at the altar. "I do hope I'm not disturbing your little get together. Oh, no, wait, I really don't care."

"What on earth are you doing here, Regina?" Blue snapped as she climbed down from the altar and stalked towards the ever smirking brunette.

"Oh, me? I'm just here for some quality religious time while Emma Swan is being held captive somewhere under your hold, but you should know, I don't really hold grudges."

"What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, bug. What the hell have you done with Emma?"

A collective gasp throughout the room made Regina stifle a laugh. She had never actually been to church in Storybrooke, but she had in the Enchanted Forest, and she knew that the _'H'_ word was definitely their version of the f-bomb.

"You're the one who has probably defiled her, not me! Besides, I haven't seen the princess since the last time you saw me. So please, tell me how I have done something to gain your ever pleasing presence."

"Regina, it's not her," Rumple offered as he followed the brunette down the aisle of pews that lined the floor. "Just because the magic brought us here, it doesn't mean that it was her. Blue doesn't have magic from Arendelle."

"Wait, you thought I had Orientalis magic?" Regina simply glared at the woman before her in disgust, not knowing whether the woman was genuinely confused or actually gloating. "I don't have that sort of magic, but we do care for some young people from Arendelle, the Southern Isles and even Corona; they each have Orientalis magic that they couldn't control."

"How did they get here?"

"When you cast your curse, we were caring for them for quite some time. They had been residing with us in the tulips, so naturally, when you cursed all of us, they came with us. They've been living here at the convent with us ever since we arrived here." The Blue Fairy narrowed her eyes at the former Evil Queen and took a step forward. "What did you want with them?"

"Clearly, one of your precious little imbeciles has decided to abduct Emma. It all depends on how Emma fairs what I will do with them." Regina's little sadistic smile brought fear to Blue's eyes instantly. But the way she voiced her next command was enough to make the bogeyman turn and run in fear: "Go get them." And with that, the Blue Fairy made a bee-line for the doors as fast as she could.

Rumple stayed standing behind Regina as the Charmings joined them to avoid being trampled on while the entire room emptied instantly in panic. Regina was pleasantly surprised that she still managed to cause some form of fear within the people of Storybrooke. She had expected to lose that fear as soon as the curse broke. Hell, she had expected to be murdered within a day of the curse being broken, and never did she expect to find the Saviour running up her garden path telling everyone as politely as she could to 'fuck off'. Just the thought of Emma's constant protective behaviour sent both a shiver of pride and excitement through her body.

It didn't take long for the Blue Fairy to return with around fifteen children and young adults trailing behind her; each uniquely beautiful in their own little ways. Regina couldn't help but pity some of the youngest children – the youngest being at most two years old.

"Mayor Mills," Blue murmured from behind the youngest children.

"Thank you, Mother Superior," Regina flashed a false smile that gained her a few scoffs and giggles from a group of pre-teens. "If you could leave us, dear, that would be most helpful."

"What?! No! They're all under my guardianship and I don't permit them to be alone in your presence."

"I do believe Ms. Blanchard was a teacher in our middle school; I'm sure she can keep them all safe and in line." Regina offered, keeping her regal behaviour at a high standard.

"I...but...Blue...uh..." Snow stuttered, playing with her hands and refusing to meet the eyes of both Regina and the Blue Fairy.

"For Christ's sake, Snow," Charming huffed as he gave his wife a gentle push towards the group of youths before pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose in embarrassment at what he had just said.

Blue glared at the former school teacher before lifting her chin and storming out of the chapel, leaving the quartet with the silent group of orphans or apprentices that the fairies had taken in.

"So, I am told that you all possess magic of the Orientale, is that to be believed?" Regina asked, resuming her queenly status. The group of youths nodded except for the toddler, who excitedly shouted a few random words that made Regina smile despite herself. "How many of you are from Arendelle or a surrounding island?"

Less than half of the group raised their hands and Regina asked them to step forward before dismissing the rest of the group, who she believed to be from Corona.

"Mayor Mills," One of the eldest girls fretted as she cradled the youngest child of the group to her hip, "Amira is a child of Arendelle. I care for her on a daily basis – I am the closest thing she has to family. Do you wish for me to stay as her guardian?"

"No thank you, dear," Regina said with an honest smile and slowly walked over to the grinning toddler. "I shall watch her and return her to you when we are done."

The girl nodded, placing the toddler on the closest pew, and left with the rest of the youth without Arendellean origins. Regina, on the other hand, knelt in front of the toddler with a slightly excited smile creeping onto her lips.

"Hello,"

"Hi!" Amira shouted, holding her arms out to the mayor. Without a second thought, Regina picked up the child and held her close against her side.

Losing the ability to stop herself from smiling at the child that was snuggling into her chest, Regina's hand wandered to the girls back, leaving her to draw soothing circles along her spine with her fingers. Snow and Charming stood off to the side with contradictory looks on their faces. Snow looked genuinely terrified, whereas Charming stood smug with a look that screamed _'I told you so'_.

Regina swayed with Amira in her arms for a little while longer before she realised that everyone had been watching her interaction with the child while they were waiting for her to question the rest of the group. She had already eliminated the little girl from her interrogation. She was far too young to have the use of any magic, let alone enough to be outside the convent to kidnap Emma and cast a protection spell around the two of them. Just the thought of it was ridiculous.

Before her stood a young man with the possibility of being at least nineteen, a younger boy and twin girls who looked around sixteen and another young boy that appeared to be around Henry's age.

"I'm just going to ask you all a few questions, if you're all okay with that?" Regina asked, drifting back into her queen facade without forgetting about Amira. The group collectively nodded and the eldest fiddled with the white gloves on his hands, the action not being missed by Regina for a second. "Could you remove the gloves, please?"

He looked at the former queen in utter horror, before the boy beside him spoke up. "Uh, Mayor Mills, Hayden has a skin condition on his hands so he covers them up with the gloves." For that, the young boy received an almighty whack across the back of his head from Hayden.

"That's enough." Regina snapped, making Amira jump a little, but it didn't stop her from holding onto Regina even tighter. "Hayden, if you could remove the gloves, please?"

Begrudgingly, Hayden slowly removed his gloves with the occasional grimace to reveal a pair of bloodied hands. Regina gave him a pointed look as if to ask for an explanation. That amount of blood doesn't just pour from a single pair of hands and not seep through a thin pair of gloves. The blood was clearly dried and the skin beneath it unharmed in any way.

"They bled earlier." He insisted, "I was helping out in the yard, so I didn't really have much time to get them cleaned up."

"If that's true, why aren't you covered in mud or dust?" Charming asked as he stepped forward to get a closer look at the youth. "I was a shepherd, kid, I know what agricultural work looks like, and that's not it."

"When Mother Superior came to fetch me, I was quickly changing out of my working clothes with the intention of showering tonight because I care for some of the younger children while the nuns gather in here on a daily basis."

Regina hummed and bit her tongue to stop herself from questioning on the matter anymore than they had, even if she did find him all too suspicious. "Tell me about yourself, Hayden. How did you live before the curse?"

"I lived in Arendelle for a short period of time after being abandoned by my family – the royal family of the Southern Isles."

"You're the youngest of the Westerguards, yes?" Charming asked, knowing the large family all too well after feeling rather uncomfortable when visiting the Southern Isles with his wife.

"Yes, I was the youngest of thirteen." He looked down to his feet and hid his bloodied hands behind his back to hide his embarrassment. "I lived in Arendelle until Queen Elsa reigned. Being a partial orphan, I was banished by her court and sent to the Enchanted Forest, where Blue rescued me. From then on, she taught me how to use and control my magic. When the curse was cast, I found myself living here with the rest of the orphans from Arendelle, Corona and the Southern Isles."

Nodding in understanding, Regina turned to the teenage boy by his side. "And yourself?"

"My name is Luca. I was born in Arendelle and lived with my parents until they died. I lived on the streets for a while, and then Queen Elsa's court banished me to the Enchanted Forest like Hayden. The fairies took me in and then I came here."

Regina watched the boy a little longer before turning to face the twins and waited for one of them to speak.

"I'm Riley, and this is Haley," one of the twins stated as she nodded her head towards the girl to her left. "Our parents were on the same boat as the King and Queen when they died in the storm. We were left to care for ourselves for the time they were away, so when they didn't return, the court of Arendelle banished us too."

Lastly, Regina glanced over to the young boy of Henry's age and offered him an encouraging smile. "I'm Erhan, I was born in Arendelle, but my mother died, and my father took us to the Southern Isles. On my tenth birthday, I boarded a ship that took me back to Arendelle. Within a week I had been banished by Queen Elsa's court."

Noticing the recurring pattern between the youths, Regina didn't need to ask about what had happened to Amira to know that she was an orphan in the hands of the Blue Fairy, and that just didn't sit right with her whatsoever.

"At what level is your magic?" Rumple asked, noticing that Regina was slightly stumped with what to ask next.

"Mine isn't the greatest. I've been told not to use mine without Mother Superior." Hayden said, earning another suspicious look from Regina.

"I can barely conjure something from halfway across the room." Luca laughed to himself.

"We can transport ourselves to distances of, like, a metre. But that's only when we're together." Riley said for herself and her sister.

"I can make myself invisible, look!" Before Regina could decline wanting to see his party trick, Erhan vanished in thin air for at least ten seconds before reappearing once again, gasping for breath.

"I know what you're thinking, Regina, I can't test their magic to see who transported themselves and Emma." Rumple murdered into the brunette's ear. "All I know is that whoever it was, has had a long exposure to Arendelle, so it could be anyone."

Regina nodded and took another long look at the five youths before her. She hadn't noticed until her arm felt slightly heavier that Amira had fallen asleep in her arms. The child's head had fallen into a comfortable position on Regina's chest, leaving her wild dark hair to tickle under the mayor's chin. Amira's small hand had gripped onto the shoulder pad of Regina's blazer and from where she was looking, the toddler looked incredibly peaceful. The feeling of having the child in her arms sent her back to the time Henry was Amira's age; back to a time when her son actually wanted to be around her all the time. She inwardly sighed and held the child a little closer before dismissing the rest of the Arendelle orphans.

"We should probably search the surrounding area for some sort of hidden compound until we find a few traces of magic." Charming suggested once the four teenagers had left the chapel. "And we should probably take the baby to her guardian, or whatever." He nodded towards the child and offered to take her from Regina's arms. Surprising everyone, Regina cradled the child's sleeping head and stormed past the Charmings, towards the side door that everyone had left through.

Once outside, Regina wandered the corridors in the hope of finding the girl that had approached her before finding the Blue Fairy. Fortunately enough, the girl stepped out behind Regina, almost startling the mayor.

"She seems to have taken quite a shine to you, Madam Mayor. Amira doesn't usually like anyone other than me or Luca. She doesn't even respond very well to Mother Superior; you should feel honoured."

"I do, she's a beautiful child," Regina mused as she handed the sleeping toddler over to the teenager.

"Maybe you should visit her sometime, I'm sure she would like that."

"I would like that, too. Thank you-"

"Charlotte. My name is Charlotte."

"Thank you, Charlotte."

With that, Regina quickly turned away from the pair and returned to the chapel to find Rumple conjuring a huge three-dimensional map of the area surrounding the convent. The only buildings within a two mile radius of the convent were several sheds, a few quaint homes and an entrance to an underground shelter that had never been used. Of course, the underground shelter set off far too many alarm bells for Regina that she seriously considered heading there immediately.

"It's probably not the shelter, Regina, calm down." Rumple instructed, noticing the violent outbursts of sparks coming from the brunette's hands. Somehow, he always knew exactly what she was thinking. "The shelter is too obvious. Whoever this is isn't stupid enough to take her somewhere so stupidly obvious."

"Maybe that's their plan – take her to the most obvious place so that we wouldn't think to look there!" Charming shouted as if he had just had a brainwave that could outsmart Albert fucking Einstein. Regina and Rumple simultaneously rolled their eyes, turning away from the two idiots to face the map again.

"We can check the shelter as we pass it, but there's going to be a protection spell around the area, so we're going to need to approach everything with sever precaution, especially those two," Rumple tilted his head towards Snow and Charming before continuing. "You're going to have to be aware of everything around you, just to be sure you're not going to walk into some idiotic trap. That wouldn't be the first time now, would it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Regina huffed and barged out of the chapel without waiting for the others to follow.

*#*#*#*

Emma's head ached and throbbed with a constant thumping sound drumming through her mind, echoing off her skull and continuing to ricochet around her entire body. With her eyes filled with crusted tears, Emma struggled to pry her lids open until giving up entirely on the thought. Her arms ached and the blood that had curdled around her wrists remained and continued to drip onto the cold concrete floor. With her feet still barely touching the floor, Emma was rather glad that her wrists had numbed a little, allowing her a little pain relief since she didn't have to feel the metal shackles digging into her already open wounds.

The air around the hanging blonde was stale, holding no signs of life around her, but the smell of rotting flesh and blood filled the air, telling Emma that she was in a much more severe state than she cared to think. Whoever her capturer was, they hadn't paid her a visit in quite some time, leaving the blonde alone to think about what could be happening in the outside world. Her mind painted a picture of the bastard that had locked her up was walking around town, talking to her friends, organising meetings with Regina, bumping into her parents and even saying hello to Henry as her son walked home from school. The thoughts made her feel dizzy with nausea and her arms felt slightly weaker, causing her to swing a little awkwardly.

Her mind continued to think about the possibilities of her capturer wandering around Storybrooke and mixing with the people she cared about. Thinking about it was the last thing she wanted to do, of course, but without that, her mind would travel directly towards Regina and their son. All she wanted was for the two of them to be safe and together. She wanted her son to be happy and she wanted Regina to be happy. Such thoughts that caressed her mind made Emma slowly believe that she was giving up - like she was saying goodbye.

Giving up and giving in were two things she never wanted to do; especially when it came down to Regina. Giving up meant dying and leaving Regina alone once again to grieve over someone she, again, believed to be her true love. Giving in meant being freed from her capturer and living the remainder of her life without Regina by her side. Both meant leaving Regina alone and for Emma, neither were an option.

Emma wanted to laugh at how ironic everything in their lives seemed to be; every time either of them found someone that they loved, they were instantly taken from them in some sort of tragic way, they had both been raised in horrible families, the son they shared seemed to be the only thing the both truly and unconditionally loved, neither of them were the people everyone believed them to be and now with every glimpse of happiness they seem to find, it always gets torn away. It's true that nothing is ever easy, and when it came down to Emma and Regina, life was the furthest thing away from easy.

Some people say that a difficult life builds character; others say difficult lives lead to either insanity or young deaths. Emma was the type of person to believe both. If you're strong enough to fight, you're strong enough to live. If you're too weak to fight, insanity becomes your best friend. But you can't live off of being strong all the time or living a life of a mental patient, so then, eventually; you're left alone with a choice – kill yourself (or be killed) or wait for your body to just give up.

If Emma was lucky enough, her capturer would probably do the deed for her and end her miserable life. But this was Emma Swan, things like that didn't happen to her, so she would probably be gladly handed the latter of the two choices.

Emma didn't know how long she had been conscious again, but she did know, however, that someone had now joined her in the little cubby hole of a basement. She remained silent and kept her eyes closed – even if she didn't really have a choice in the latter. The sounds of her company's footsteps on the floor, her racing heart and the drumming noise in her head were the only sounds that could be heard. Even her nights in prison hadn't been this quiet. It was almost too eerie.

Keeping her mind focused only on steadying her breathing, Emma missed the sound of the cork being pulled from a vial and the suction of liquid being drawn into a pipette. If she had heard it, she would've known exactly what was about to happen.

"Oh, Emma Swan," her capturer sighed as he stepped closer to the blonde. He knew she was awake and smiled at her attempt to hide it. "You should know that I have you connected to a transmitter. I know when you're asleep, awake, conscious, or unconscious. You're not the greatest of actors, Saviour."

If she could have opened her eyes, she would have, but with the gunk that had built up while she was unconscious, her eyelids felt too heavy to even flitter. Instead, she offered him a weak smile and visibly gulped at the thought of what he was about to do to her.

"You know, Regina and your parents decided to pay us a visit today. Quite smart, that one. If she didn't have such a disgusting past, I probably would have told her that she was a keeper. In fact, I'm almost certain she had an idea who I was. She knew where my magic was from, she knew what to ask, but she was too ignorant to ask exactly what she wanted. Instead, she let Rumple guide her and he is practically a dud. I'm pretty sure your dear mother would have been able to think of the question Regina was so determined to ask.

"You probably don't know much of the Southern Isles, do you, princess? Beautiful islands. It's a shame though; they could have had such a great king. Hmm...I'm sure you would have made a pretty good queen for the White Kingdom, too. You could never have ruled with Regina, though. Gods no, your people would never allow it! I'm sure there would be uproar and another civil war on your hands before they all agreed on _that_ union."

Emma wanted to reply, but her fatigue was quickly taking over once again, giving her only enough energy to let out a little groan in response, and even that was an uphill struggle. He had gone completely off target of his intentions and Emma knew it. Her vague response was enough to give him the kick start that he needed.

"I'm actually quite glad that you can't open your eyes, Sheriff." The vile man started again. "Firstly, I'm not very well hidden this afternoon, so you could probably see who I am. Secondly, your blindness is incredibly beneficial to both me and this little spell – if you could open your eyes willingly, then the spell would break, but because you can't, the spell will only break under my hand and the antidote. Rather clever, actually. "

Emma merely grunted in response, having finally caught on to what he was about to do; to what he had planned on doing from the very beginning; torturing her with images of Regina and Henry dying in cold blood by his hand. She had expected to rouse from her sleep with the images etched into her mind thinking that the two people in her life that she loved the most were dead and there was nothing she could do about it, but now she knew that they were both alive and she was now about to witness their deaths.

"It would be such a pity to end dear Henry's life so early, don't you think?"

Emma didn't dare think about the words that had just been voiced. Thinking about her son dying at all was painful enough for any mother, but to be faced with the idea of her son being brutally murdered at the age of eleven made Emma sick to her stomach. She had already missed so much of his life and for it to be ended so soon by a hand so cruel was near enough driving Emma into insanity. Who in their right mind would want to harm an eleven year old child? He isn't in his right mind, Emma reminded herself.

With a sudden surge of force, Emma felt her head being ripped backwards and aimed towards the ceiling, with one of her eyelids being covered in the liquid from the vial, then the other.

"Have fun with that one, Swan." Were her capturer's parting words as he left the basement. Emma didn't have the time or the strength to call him back, instead, she simply waited for the effects to take over and drag her into a nether world that she refused to allow happen in her version of reality.


	13. Finding Emma (Part I)

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN - Finding Emma (Part I)**

Emma was never granted a moment of peaceful sleep. From the moment her eyes faded to black until her conscious mind came into play once more, the saviour was taunted by a never ending vision of her son and her one True Love losing their lives in the most brutal ways. The darkness had taunted her in ways she never believed possible. Throughout the night, the magical serum had painted endless pictures of emotional torment in the mind of the blonde. Every one of her deepest fears of death came alight right before her eyes and there was nothing she could do about it. She tried to scream, but after a while, Emma realised that she was fighting a losing battle. Regina and Henry couldn't hear her and they never would again.

At first, Emma was almost certain that Regina had heard her scream their names. It wasn't until her kidnapper made an appearance in her visions that Emma knew full and well that he was tormenting her even more with the fact that she couldn't even say goodbye to the two people that mattered most to her. Seeing his dark and shadowed figure merely played another part in her torture. Emma screamed until she could feel her throat begin to scrape and splutter. The pain wasn't enough to make her stop. In fact, the pain in her throat was the only thing that kept her trying. Everything felt real. Everything felt as though it was coming to an end. Her life. Henry's life. Regina's life.

It was all too much.

The physical pain that Emma was still facing was too much. The wounds on her wrists had opened again from her amount of writhing whilst in her trance. Apparently, magical binds aren't actually strong enough to paralyse someone who was experiencing some serious pain.

When the visions had stopped, Emma could feel how very little blood she had remaining in her hands. Any blood that was left was still pouring out of her wrists at a rate that would be deemed dangerous to anyone without a psychopathic capturer with magic at his fingertips. Obviously he was stopping her blood-loss from influencing whatever was happening to her through magic. But Emma wasn't even sure that she was thankful for that anymore. Emma didn't even know if she wanted to fully wake from all of this. Deep, in the darkest parts of Emma's mind, something was telling her to give up. Giving up was easy. Giving up was the only option Emma actually had now.

She still couldn't move and her eyes felt too heavy to open. Giving up, letting go and saying goodbye to the world were the only things she could do now.

"Did you enjoy that?" Had Emma still had control of her body, she would have flinched at the voice that had snuck upon her and echoed around the room. "Did you enjoy your little show?"

Emma was too tired to reply. She was too tired to even acknowledge that the bastard had rejoined her in the small, clammy basement. Instead, she simply grunted in acknowledgment of his presence. She still didn't know who he was or what he really wanted from her. No, all she knew was that he didn't want Regina Mills to have her happy ending. An ending that he knew Emma would be involved in either romantically or friendly.

"Why do you love them so much?" He asked, instantly hitting every nerve in Emma's body. "If they loved you, wouldn't they have come to find you by now? Wouldn't they be banging down every door in Storybrooke just to find you?"

Emma spat at the bastard.

"As you know, your precious little Evil Queen paid us a visit today." He stepped away from the shadows and slowly began circling the hanging blonde. His heavy footfalls splashed in the thick puddles of blood that surrounded her. He even pressed his fingers into the huge laceration on her back, just to cause a little bit more pain. "She stopped by because she found some traces of Orientale magic around her house. She is definitely a smart one, you know. But that's where she fails - she may be smart, Swan, be she most certainly isn't intelligent. If she was, she would have known immediately who I was when she saw me. She looked me square in the eye and believed the stream of lies that came tumbling out of my mouth. It was almost too easy."

Emma growled once again and showed her bloodstained teeth to the man before her. "Stay away from her," she managed to spit out. Her voice was broken and tired, but her words were thick with fear, hatred and annoyance. "Kill me. Do whatever you want to me, but do _not_ touch her."

From the silence she was faced with, Emma knew that her kidnapper with irritated with her response. Clearly he didn't know her well enough to understand that she would be doing whatever it is she can do to save and protect the people she loves.

_Loves_. The word came so freely to mind whenever she thought about Regina. They may have fought a lot since they met, but Emma never really felt any hatred towards the other woman. In fact, what Emma felt for Regina from the very moment they met was a whole other universe away from hatred. She even knew that secretly, somewhere deep down in Regina's being, she had felt exactly the same way; only Regina was a hell of a lot more scared than Emma was about how she was feeling.

Emma's mind didn't linger on the thought of Regina attempting to find her. Just the thought of Regina stumbling into the room to find the blonde hanging limply and covered in blood from the ceiling was enough to make Emma's blood feel as though it were boiling beneath her skin. She couldn't let Regina see her this was. Undoubtedly, the brunette would instantly assume the situation Emma was in was her own fault. She would hate herself because of it and instantly shut Emma out again.

One step forward, three steps back.

Emma didn't want to be saved. This was her chance to be the saviour. If she died in order to protect Regina and Henry, then so be it. That would have meant she had saved at least two people. Yes, they would grieve their loss, but they would be safe and alive, and that's all Emma wanted.

Although she still couldn't see his face, Emma could tell that he was glaring at her in annoyance. Her point was proven correct when he quickly flicked his wrist and cut off all control of Emma's mouth. She couldn't speak. She couldn't lick her lips. She couldn't even feel her tongue pressing against her teeth. She was back to the very beginning.

"I'm not going to kill you, saviour." He said as he continued to circle her like a vulture. "Actually, I'm doing the exact opposite. Didn't you realise that you would probably have been dead by now if not for the magic I have been using on you? Your cold dead body would still be hanging from the ceiling and no one would be able to find you." He let out a sinisterly pleased sigh before whispering in Emma's ear, "Killing you is the last thing I intend to do."

"You know, I didn't actually need to do any of this. This was all just a game. But a guy's gotta have some fun though, right? I mean: living in a nunnery for twenty-eight years does get a little tedious, don't you think?" His circling stride continued whilst he sent several painful images to Emma's mind; each showing Regina and Henry stone dead in a heap on the floor, surrounded in a pool of their own blood. The images merely lasted for a few seconds, but with a new one coming every thirty-seconds or so, each image began to blend into one buffering video. "All I really needed to do was to turn you against Regina. That's the easiest bit. It would have been quicker too. But this way, yes, this way I get to mess with the both of you. I have been given the prime opportunity to watch you break, Emma Swan, and in the meantime, I get to watch the Evil Queen begin to lose hope once again. I get to watch her become vulnerable again.

"This is all really quite beautiful."

He circled Emma twice before stopping directly in front of her face for the last time. With his face almost pressed against her own, Emma felt every outlet of breath coming from his nose and mouth. She could feel the heat radiating from his body. She could even feel the power of his egotistical stance as he pressed his lower body against her own. However, even in the close proximity, Emma still hadn't been able to get an entire glimpse of the face of her capturer. The light should have fallen on his face and brightened his features, instead, she was left with nothing. She could see nothing beyond the dark shadows that cast across his face.

"I really would love to stay and chat, my dear," he drawled, raising Emma's chin with his fingers in order to meet her gaze. "But the thing is, I have work to do and I can't hang around here all day. People would begin to get suspicious, don't you think?"

The urge to pull her head back and violently head-butt the man before her was so overwhelming that Emma felt like she was drowning. Her constant desire to cause him pain in return was actually too painful to keep under control and she wasn't even the one trying to control it.

"I highly doubt that you will be bored in my absence, Miss Swan. Oh no, I think you'll enjoy yourself almost as much as last night." Emma actually gulped. She knew that she wouldn't be able to last through another one of his sick, sadistic little visions. "This one is a little more productive than the last, if I may say so myself."

Her kidnapper pushed himself into Emma's body one last time before quickly pulling away to disappear into a small closet that Emma had yet to notice. She had been too preoccupied to have noticed before, but it still unnerved her that she didn't actually know where the hell she was being kept captive.

His absence was short. When he emerged from the closet, Emma noticed a familiar sight in his hand. It was her dreamcatcher. The very same dreamcatcher that she had noticed hung in Neal's old New York apartment. The sight made her feel physically sick. Even the thought of Neal made her slightly irritated. _What the hell did this guy want with her old dreamcatcher and how on earth did he manage to get it?_

"A sight for sore eyes, is it not?" Emma glared at him, to which she was repaid with a chuckle. "After this little activity your precious dreamcatcher will mean as much to you now as it did when you first had it." He let out a satisfied smile and Emma knew he was smirking behind the shadows. "Magic is a wonderful thing."

The dreamcatcher was hung directly in front of Emma's face from the ceiling. Through the smell of blood and rotting flesh, she was still able to pick up the scent of Neal's apartment that had lingered on it. She knew it shouldn't be so prominent, but the thought of questioning magic made her want to chastise herself. Whoever this guy was clearly wanted her and Neal to pair up to take on Regina. That much was obvious.

Once the dreamcatcher was securely hung in place, Emma's kidnapper waved his hand over the central strings. Within an instant, an image was created at the centre of the circle, much like it had done when she had used a dreamcatcher similar to it in order to read Pongo's mind. The image was still unclear, but Emma knew what was about to come.

"Have fun!" He chided before running to one of the tables to grab a pair of white gloves and exited the basement, leaving Emma completely alone with nothing but her thoughts and the dreamcatcher, which was now becoming clearer and clearer.

*#*#*#*

Regina rapped her knuckles on the door of the Charmings' apartment as loudly as she could, in the hope that one of the two idiots would actually wake and open the door for her. She could have just magicked herself in, but with the current state of things, the brunette really wasn't willing to drastically risk anything.

"Who is it?" Snow's sleepy voice shouted from within the apartment.

"It's Regina, you idiot," she sighed and rolled her eyes at the still locked door. "Who else would it be at this time of the morning when your daughter is still missing?"

Regina didn't have a moment of peaceful sleep throughout the entire night. The evening before had been completely pointless; they had spoken to the only people in all of Storybrooke with Orientale magic and learnt nothing. Her instant idea of searching the surrounding grounds of the convent, and the convent itself, was put on hold. Rumple insisted they headed back to their homes for a night's rest before setting out the following morning to search as thoroughly as they could.

The Charmings idiotically agreed once again and argued that it was too dark to be searching for their daughter. They even inspired that she would be okay for just one more night. Just the thought of how stupid they were made Regina grit her teeth in anger. _How on earth could they be so willing as to leave their only daughter in great peril just so they could all get a good night's sleep?!_

Throughout the entire night Regina lay awake clutching her comforter as tight as she could. She had spent the majority of her time attempting to get inside Emma's mind through their telepathic connection, but to no avail. Regina knew that the telepathic gift doesn't just disappear after accessing it for the first time; someone was obviously acting as a barrier between them. Someone was fighting against the magic of true love.

It didn't take long for her to realise what was happening to Emma. As soon as she had pieced together what she already knew, Regina was faced with an outline. Someone had captured Emma in order to turn her against her true love. Whoever it was, was clearly determined to see Regina unhappy and loveless while Emma Swan roamed around with some false lover and a messed up psyche.

"Are you going to let me in or are we going to have to plan our search in a conversation through your front door?" Regina asked after Snow's silent pause. Resentfully, she opened the door to allow the former Queen's entrance to her home.

"Regina, I thought we agreed to meet here at eight o'clock, not the crack of dawn." Snow glanced towards the clock hanging on the wall behind her. "Ugh, it's barely even six a.m. and you want us to leave on a wild goose chase now?"

"Yes, dear, because unlike you, I actually care about your daughter's well being and I'm actually quite worried for her safety. Now, if you don't mind, I would much like it if you could wake your clearly unconscious husband and dress yourselves so we can take off and search for Emma as soon as possible."

"I care about my daughter's wellbeing a lot more than you ever have or ever will for that matter!" She hissed through gritted teeth. With a sigh, Snow paused for a moment's thought as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "And what about Rumple, hmm? He wanted us to wait before we set off to search for her."

"He's already on his way over here, dear." Regina walked around the barely awake woman before her and took a seat on the dining table with the look of boredom painted on her face as a facade to hide how terribly anxious she really was. "So, if you will; please get dressed. I would much rather see you wearing one of your ghastly knit sweaters and skirts than whatever attempt at pyjamas those are." She nodded to the thick, pink flannel pyjamas that Snow was comfortably sporting. "Any time soon would be great, otherwise we will have to postpone it again today."

With an irritated huff, Snow hastily rushed towards her bedroom to dress and wake her husband, leaving Regina alone with her thoughts once again. In the short amount of time that she was alone (before Rumple decided to make his entrance), Regina tried her very hardest to stop her mind from wandering towards Emma. Of course that's where her mind lingered a lot lately, but as she thought of her True Love, Regina couldn't help but to continue to blame herself for everything that had happened.

If not for the curse, Emma would have been raised by her parents and living her life with another True Love; Regina would have been captured by the Charmings and locked away for the rest of her days; but at least Emma would have been safe and happy. If not for Snow's horse going rabid, Regina wouldn't have been caught in the stables with Daniel and she never would have been queen; Snow never would have found Charming in the woods and Emma never would have existed. If not for Henry's adoption, Emma never would have come to Storybrooke; she never would have had to put her life in danger for the sake of the town; she would have been safe.

Regina knew that lingering her thoughts on things that had happened and things that never did happen would get her nowhere other than a rut, and Regina Mills being stuck in a rut was good for no one. In an attempt to clear her head of regret, Regina got up from the table and traipsed around the quaint apartment, occasionally stopping to glance at the framed photos of her son, Emma and the Charmings. One photograph caught her eye the most: the photo showed herself and Emma teasing Henry in Granny's diner. It was almost a picture perfect photo – she was smiling, Emma was smiling and so was Henry. The only thing that stopped it from being a perfect photo was the story behind it.

The photo had been taken during the welcome home party they held for Henry after Neverland. For the entire party, he refused to let go of either of his mothers. Not that Regina cared about having Henry so close, but his eyes constantly glimmered with anxiety and that terrified Regina. Her son had been so carefree and happy about everything that when she saw him wandering timidly around his home was simply the scariest thing Regina had ever seen.

"Emma loves that photo," Charming said from behind Regina, startling the woman. "She sees how comfortable and content he is with you. She always says that his eyes say he's scared of the world outside the little bubble the three of you are in."

Regina simply smiled and hummed at the shepherd, glad to know that Emma saw it too.

"We will find her, Regina," He promised with a supportive hand in the small of her back. "She knows she is loved. She knows that we will find her. And when we do, if you and Emma are determined to continue looking into your True Love links, then together, as a family, we will talk this through."

"Thank you, Charming," Regina's gratitude was real but the smile that graced her lips wasn't real enough to actually reach her eyes. "But I don't think you understand. This decision is a decision to be made between myself and Emma; and that decision has already been made. We don't need your approval if we have to work and suffer for it. You should approve of whatever your daughter wants. You should trust her to know what she wants."

"That is not what I meant, Regina."

"Then what did you mean, dear? Please, I'm listening."

"What I meant was that Snow doesn't understand. Snow can't see anything above who you became." He worried his lip before continuing on dangerous territory. "She knew who you were before, but she's afraid that if this doesn't work out between the two of you that you may revert to your old self. She's worried about you. And Emma? Well, Snow is just determined to see our daughter with her first love. I'm not a fan of Neal, especially after what he did to Emma, but if she chose him, then I would support them. But obviously she's choosing you, so you've got my support through and through."

"Thank you," Regina smiled, actually meaning it this time. "However, we're not going to need your support unless we find her. I need her, Charming. I didn't realise how much I needed her until we found out that she was gone."

"I know,"

Charming flashed Regina a sympathetic smile before leaving to find his boots by the front door. She hadn't meant to sound so vulnerable when admitting to one of her once sworn enemies that she needed someone so desperately. And to need the saviour of all people: Regina would have been ashamed of herself had she not fallen so smitten for the blonde on their first date. Feeling dependent on someone was vulnerability and vulnerability was the biggest killer there ever was. But with Emma, Regina felt safe. They hadn't even began to dive into the possibilities of a relationship yet, and Regina still knew that this was something she needed to do. She needed Emma for her own sanity — as selfish as that sounded — they needed each other and everybody knew it. Regina needed Emma to strengthen her magic and to keep her good, whereas Emma obviously needed Regina to keep herself sane and still attempt to live up to her title of Saviour.

With miraculous timing as ever, Rumple entered the apartment without preamble as Snow stepped out of her bedroom.

"Ah, wonderful, you're all ready." He said as he tapped his cane against the doorframe. "Madam Mayor, you can drive and I'll relay our action plan on the way."

Regina rolled her eyes at Rumple's cockiness but complied despite herself. She really didn't care who was helping her, all she wanted was to find Emma as soon as possible, so taking Rumple's dictated decisions was probably the easiest way to get there.


	14. Finding Emma (Part II)

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Finding Emma (Part II)**

"We can't just wander around the area aimlessly, Rumple," Regina snarled as she pulled out of Main Street and towards the convent. "That's ridiculous, even for you to say it."

"Now, now, dearie, that's not what I meant at all." Rumple said with a sinister smirk. A smirk that Regina had seen far too often as of late. "What I meant was that we, as a group, search the land around the convent thoroughly. Both you and I know, your Majesty, that this town isn't exactly filled with the brightest of sparks."

Regina actually scoffed and risked a glimpse in the rear view mirror to see the Charmings staring at her and Rumple with utterly confused faces.

_'Idiots,'_ She thought, having to strongly force herself to remain mute.

"There are several buildings with basements in the area; including the convent. There's even a storm shelter just off of one of the ranches." Rumple spoke again after a short silence.

"True," Regina agreed as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. "However, I think we should still hold off the storm shelter until later. It's an obvious choice and it constantly screams suspicion. There has to at least be one other person in this town who isn't a complete idiot."

"Fine. Then we'll do this the opposite way to what I had planned." Rumple stated before pausing for a thought. "We'll start with the remainder of the convent: check everything that looks suspicious, but I don't think Emma is there - the Orientalis magic that was present yesterday only became stronger when the children arrived. Mother Superior would have cracked under your scrutiny yesterday if she was hiding something. After that, we'll spread out on the surrounding fields: they could be hiding behind some sort of invisible dome, like the one that is stopping us from just magicking our way in there. It's a possibility. Once that has been checked, we'll head towards the building where the orphans are housed, just to be safe."

"Then the surrounding homes and the storm shelter, right?" Charming finished from the backseat.

"Exactly." Rumple grinned with accomplishment. The Charmings weren't exactly the easiest people to convince with a plan, so with their approval and complete understanding, this would be a hell of a lot easier than expected. "It's nice to see we're all on the same page for once."

"Please, enlighten me on the matter why we can't all split up to find her." Regina asked anxiously.

"Oh, dearie, I have a list of reasons why we're not splitting up to find Miss Swan. Firstly, we would have to split ourselves into two groups and each group would need magic, so you would be stuck with one of the Charmings and I can't guarantee that you're not going to kill one of them." Reluctantly, Regina agreed with a slight nod and a sheepish smile that she kept to herself. "Secondly, if you weren't the one to find her, then I'm pretty sure that whoever did would most likely be killed on sight."

Regina rolled her eyes in spite of herself. She knew that what Rumple was saying was the most truthful thing he had said in years, so she couldn't deny his allegations. If not for Emma and Henry, the Charmings probably would have already been lying stone dead somewhere in the woods.

_'No, they wouldn't have,'_ Regina corrected herself. She had managed to pull her way through eighteen years of living in Storybrooke without both Emma and Henry, so it wasn't just them that was stopping her from killing the idiots. She had changed.

Entering the convent was so much easier the second time around.

The door had been propped open and several members of the fairy-nun community were roaming the grounds doing a few mundane day-to-day chores and activities. The Blue Fairy, as always, was standing on the large wooden porch watching her girls go about their day. Had she actually been paying attention to the grounds around the convent, she probably would have noticed the new arrivals.

"Good morning, Blue," Regina said with a false smile, awakening the fairy from her thoughts.

"Madam Mayor," she curtly nodded. "I thought you had dealt with whatever is was you needed yesterday."

"That was just the beginning, dearie," Rumple admitted as he stepped out from behind Regina. "We would provide a search warrant, but since it's our dear sheriff that has gone missing, I'm afraid to say that I can't get my hands on one. As it is, this building still belongs to me, so if required, I could terminate our contract immediately."

The Blue Fairy nodded with a gulp, "That shouldn't be necessary. What do you need?"

"We need access to every square inch of the property. Even personal quarters."

"Of course," Blue swiftly turned on her heel and headed into the convent with the quartet in trail. "Personal quarters to your left; names are on the doors just in case you required someone's assistance. Everywhere else is used by the whole group."

Rumples sniffed around with a smirk on his face, making Regina grimace at the sight. She knew the smug look he liked to keep on his face whenever he was right about something and this time, she really didn't want to know what that was.

"That will be all, thank you, Blue." Charming said as he ushered the group towards the direction of the personal quarters, much against Regina's will and to Rumple's approval.

Once Blue was out of sight, the brunette growled, "What the hell are you doing? We need to be checking the least used group rooms. We need to check the basement, we need to check the loft. We need to check in all the little places first, Charming!"

"We don't even need to be here, Regina." Rumple waved his hand in the air around him, creating a small ball of magic in the palm of his hand which quickly dispersed. "This is white magic of the Enchanted Forest. The magic we're looking for isn't here."

"And you didn't think to tell me that before we burst through the doors?!" She snapped, pushing past the imp as forcefully as she could. "That insulant little bug could go around telling every damn person in Storybrooke that we're on a man hunt and our kidnapper could run circles around us. This is ridiculous."

Regina had known Rumple long enough to know not to argue with him, even if she thought his ideas were incredibly stupid, but this time she couldn't help herself. He was wasting valuable time, his tactics were completely sloppy and he clearly wanted everyone in town to know that Emma was missing. As the brunette stormed back out of the convent with the Charmings and Rumple trailing closely behind her, she continued to grumble about the incompetence of the people who believed they were actually helping her find Emma.

When they began to head out towards the surrounding greenery, Regina attempted to speak with Emma through their recently found connection. Unlike the other times that she had tried accessing the blonde's mind since she was captured, Regina actually received a slight murmur of a reply. It wasn't much, but it was something. It was hope and reassurance that Emma was still alive. The relief that flooded Regina's entire being was almost overwhelming, so much that she hadn't even realised that she was grinning like an idiot.

"How can you smile like that when you know that Emma is missing?" Snow barked from Regina's side, hoping to wipe the smug look off her face. "Oh my gods, you did take her, didn't you?"

The smile that had been unconsciously plastered on Regina's face instantly disappeared and was replaced with a deathly scowl. Out of irritation, Regina squeezed her eyes shut, counted to ten in her mind and attempted to even out her suddenly ragged breathing. Her posture had gone from relaxed to rigid in a matter of seconds.

"I'm pretty sure you're aware of True Love's connection, are you not?" Regina finally asked as she watched Snow's face contort into confusion. "Every relationship if different — you and Charming always know where each other are and if you're safe, Emma and I have one of the rarest connections: telepathy."

"That's what she told me the night she went missing," Snow's voice suddenly became sad again, losing all of its rage and power. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Emma likes to think that it's like we're having a never ending phone call, but from the moment she was taken, I haven't been able to access her until now." Regina let out a sigh and allowed her gaze to rake across the vast, open land around them, praying to whatever gods were out there that she would be able to find Emma as soon as possible. "I never received anything each time I tried, but today she actually responded to me. It was kind of like a grunt — which is completely Emma — but nothing more. But it's a hell of a lot more than what I've had lately, so I'm taking it as a win."

"Maybe we're getting closer to her, so your connection is stronger," Charming offered as he joined the two women in their stride.

"That's what I thought at first, but then I realised I had tried connecting with her yesterday when we were in the convent. If anything, whatever curse has been put over Emma is probably becoming weaker; ultimately giving us a little less time to find her."

*#*#*#*

Emma had no idea how long she had been watching her life unfold through the dream catcher, yet the longer she watched, the more she wanted to break down into tears. She could close her eyes, yes, but there was something in her that refused to let her miss even a moment. The life she could have been given had she actually found Neal after prison was almost like a dream come true. She watched as she made her decision to keep Henry, she watched his first steps, heard his first words and even watched as he played catch with his father on some beach she longed to recognise.

She saw herself smiling happily on her wedding day as she trailed behind a toddler version of Henry (one she had only recently seen in Regina's photographs), who seemed determined to get his mother towards his father as fast as he could without tripping over his little feet. Her life with Neal and Henry was happy and clearly thoroughly fulfilling. When Emma witnessed their celebrations of Henry's tenth birthday, she couldn't help but smile as they crossed the town line of Storybrooke, instantly breaking the curse, void of any acts of true love. She witnessed her reunion with her parents and Neal's with his father. But lastly, she witnessed the undoing of the Evil Queen.

Emma watched herself tie the brunette to a stake in the middle of Main Street that was then raised above a crackling fire as everyone around her cheered and hissed at the woman who had ruined their lives long ago for the very last time. To her twisted versioned self, Emma seemed thrilled. She watched with excitement as a woman she knew nothing of was dropped into the flames under silent pleads.

That was when Emma burst into a fit of violent sobs and screams. Although she still remained out of control, her body shook and swung from its bonds on the ceiling and the images that flashed through the dream catcher never stopped. She watched as her alternate self magically doused the flames so she could collect Regina's ashes in a jar that was gladly handed over to her mother. The thought of such a thing made Emma feel physically sick. The dream catcher quickly turned purple, providing a new picture. Emma's stomach rolled as she saw herself spinning in a dance with Henry, both of them dressed in garb of the Enchanted Forest, while Neal cheered on from the sidelines with her parents. She heard herself answer to 'Princess Emma' and 'your highness' with a smile that Emma knew she had never once given.

Just the thought of herself choosing Neal and completely forgiving him made Emma despise herself. When she was in prison, Emma hated every single idea of a possible future with Neal. He ruined her life — how could she forgive him for that?

It wasn't long before Emma realised exactly what was happening. Whoever this sick bastard was, really didn't want to forgive Regina. Yes, the woman had tried to ruin everyone's lives in the past, but she barely succeeded. Instead, she gave everyone another thirty years on their lives, indoor plumbing, technology, proper healthcare and wealth that some people never would have dreamed of having. She actually gave them all something to be grateful of. And Neal? He took everything from Emma. He took her life, he took all of her future possibilities and mostly, he took her hope. He took all of the hope she had left of finding someone that truly cared. That was why she couldn't forgive him.

"Don't think too hard, Swan, you might hurt yourself."

All of the bile that had filled up in Emma's chest while she watched the dream catcher, suddenly came tumbling out. Any ounce of control she believed to have over her body was gone. She heaved through her tears, shaking her body even more. The more she shook, the more she swung from the ceiling, causing the gashes in her wrists to bleed out even worse than they had before. The blood streamed down her arms before pooling at her shoulders and dripping onto the floor.

"You're really doing a number on yourself there, aren't you?" This time, Emma actually acknowledged the guy standing before her. She hadn't even noticed him enter the room, that's what scared her the most. If he could slide into the room she was kept captured without anyone knowing of his whereabouts, no one would ever be able to find out what he was doing. She would definitely be long dead before anyone even bothered to come looking for her.

As he took a step forward, Emma couldn't hold in the threatening, animalistic growl that built up in her throat. Had she been granted any movement in her limbs, she knew for a fact that this would have been the moment that she would have kicked him.

"I knew you would have enjoyed that one," he said as he pulled the dream catcher from its hanging place and held it to his nose. "It smells like him, does it not?"

Emma refused to respond. Instead, she simply glared at her kidnapper with a fire in her eyes that even Regina would have been proud of.

"You know, when I gave you the ability to speak again, I had actually thought that you were going to talk to me." Her kidnapper mused, dropping the dream catcher in the puddle of blood between their feet. Taking a step closer, he breathed in every scent that had masked the air.

"I don't think we have anything to talk about," Emma's voice was deep and husky, containing every piece of evidence of her current state. She gruffly cleared her throat of the blood that had dried there and spat it towards the man before her. Emma didn't need to feel the sharp slap that collided with her cheek to know that he was not pleased with her behaviour.

"Who would have thought that the Saviour - the precious child of Snow White and Prince Charming - would have such an attitude problem?"

Pulling his signature moves, he circled Emma twice before divulging himself in inflicting even more pain on the blonde. He traced his finger down the laceration on her back before repeating the move and deepening the wound even more. Clearly, Emma's guttural moan of pain seemed to encourage him further. Before she knew it, Emma suddenly had two large accompanying gashes on her back, either side of first. The sickening sound of her own blood splashing onto the floor made Emma feel giddy.

"I think it's about time that we discuss your true love, don't you?" Just to emphasize the severity of his tone, the shadowy figure ran three of his fingers through the lacerations down's Emma's back, who managed to let out a quiet whimper and a sharp gasp as a fingernail snagged a part of her flesh. "Whatever lies Regina Mills has fed you need to be extracted. The curse that the two of you believe to have broken was a fake. Rumple's curse was like a ticking time bomb — it was going to happen soon and the two of you just so happened to be stupid enough to kiss at that very moment."

"Enlighten me," Emma croaked with a dangerous eye roll. "If what you're saying is true, why did Blue's fairy dust lead me straight to Regina?"

"That fairy dust doesn't work. It leads us to whatever we believe we want. Why do you think that Regina was once led to a man in a bar in the Enchanted Forest? He was as free as can be, whereas she was constantly locked away under Leopold's hold. The man was rebellious and she was forced to do as she was told. Everything she wanted to be, was found in him. You crave the idea of being a family with Henry so much that you've convinced yourself that Henry is only Regina's son, so the only way you can get to him is by telling yourself that you're in love with her."

"I could never be happy with Neal." She simply stated, refusing to let the thoughts her was putting in her head drag her down.

"You can be so much happier with Neal than you ever could be with Regina. Villains don't get happy endings."

"And Neal? He threw me in prison just to cover his own ass. How doesn't that make him a villain?"

"By doing that he lead you exactly where you needed to be: here in Storybrooke. Neal Cassidy is your true love."

"Bullshit," Emma spat, watching even more blood leave her mouth with a bout of saliva. The sight was disgusting; so bad in fact that she had to force herself to take enough deep breaths to prevent a second round of bile from spilling onto the floor.

A heavy knocking sound filled the room, making Emma's eyes widen, partially in surprise and mostly terror. The man before her visibly stiffened and let out a low, irritated growl.

"Would you look at that: our time is up." He drawled, lifting Emma's chin from where it hung limply in her shoulders. "Time to make the game a little more fun for the both of us."

Emma didn't need to see his face to know he was grinning like the sadistic bastard he was. Oh how she wished she could move. Just a swift move of her head could knock him completely unconscious and whoever knocked at the room would soon come looking for him, and instead find an incredibly battered Emma Swan. Clearly Emma didn't have that much luck.

The fingers that he held beneath her chin trailed gently towards her left side temple before applying immense pressure. The buzz of magic filled the room, so much so that it made Emma dizzy.

"The curse keeping you alive is slowly deteriorating. The longer you take to realise that I am right and Regina is wrong, the closer you will be to your death. If you are as stubborn as it seems, you might reach death before you even realise the truth." For good measure, he magically slashed another laceration - this time across her stomach - before slowly turning to leave. "Tick, tock."

From the impact of the laceration and the amount of blood that seemed to be pouring out of her abdomen, Emma's mind instantly became fuzzy, allowing her to teeter on the edge of consciousness for a little while longer. With the curse on her body decreasing, at what felt like a rapid speed, the pain in her body seemed to almost become too much — as if the pain was merely increasing the closer she became to death.

Moments before Emma fell into a deep unconscious state, a gentle pleading voice invaded her mind. She wanted to reply, she wanted to at least prove that she had even acknowledged the attempt at communication. However, the only thing she could bring herself to do was grunt. She couldn't even think straight, let alone respond properly to something like that.

**_'Emma, my love, where are you? Please be okay, you idiot.'_ **

*#*#*#*

It had taken a while, but Regina Mills, for the very first time, felt rather optimistic about finding Emma. Not only did she believe that they were closing in on Emma and her kidnapper, but she also had a rather guttural feeling that Emma was going to be okay: that she was going to come out of this with the stupidly cheesy grin plastered on her face like always. Well, maybe the smile would come afterwards, but Regina felt as though she knew she was going to see it again sometime soon.

Regina didn't really know much about all of this 'true loves connection stuff, but the small, disgruntled noise that she received in response from the blonde was hope. It was strength. And maybe, it was a little bit of encouragement too. Whatever it was, Regina thought, she knew it meant one thing: Emma was alive.

Two hours had passed since the moment that the group had stormed through the convent for the second time. Two hours had been wasted by searching in places that would never be used to hold someone captive and they all knew it. They were "covering all bases" as Rumple so kindly put it. That hadn't pleased Regina in the slightest. No, instead, Regina went off on a tangent, hoping that at least the two idiots would think to follow her.

"Regina, don't you think you're being a little irrational?" Charming asked as she flicked out her wrists towards one of the many acres of forestry surrounding the convent, spurting magic from her fingertips only for it to dissipate in midair. "I'm pretty sure that if they were out here, your magic would have hit them by now?"

Closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath for a moment, Regina tried to mask her irritation as best as she could before turning to face the man questioning her. "I'm not sure if you're aware, Charming, but we are dealing with someone with completely controlled Orientalis magic with a very large death wish. Orientalis magic is powerful enough as it is, who knows how powerful it can be in this world. We don't even know how powerful its wielder is either, so I need to be as cautious as I can be."

Charming nodded and raised his hands in surrender, allowing Regina to continue her search for the magic, not that he had any say in the matter really.

Finding Emma was the only thing that kept Regina sane in this rat race. The thought of finding Emma and knowing that she was okay was enough to persuade her to stay in the game. She could have given up long ago and allowed Rumple to search for her while she sat alone convincing herself that nothing bad was going to happen to the blonde.

But then again, Regina constantly reminded herself: everything she had ever loved was taken from her in one way or another. Anytime she had given her heart to someone, it somehow managed to shatter into a thousand pieces when her loved one was taken away from her. Villains don't get happy endings, right?

Regina wasn't even a villain when she lost the first person she ever truly, unconditionally loved. She had fallen for Daniel as nothing more than an innocent young girl. Even the fates wouldn't have known what was going to happen to her in the future. Daniel was taken from her because love was weakness and Cora would never allow her daughter to fall for such a naive, little emotion. She had killed her most prized steed in a futile attempt at casting the dark curse, which then led to her killing her father to finally enact it. Then, when Henry came into her life, she really felt like she had found the happiness and love she had always searched for. So when her son was abducted and dragged to Neverland, any hope she had in finding and holding onto the one person she loved had gone.

It took a while for her to realise that this time she actually had a chance at saving him. She was given a window of opportunity to find her son, rescue him and keep him safe forever. It was an opportunity she really couldn't afford to miss. As she took the chance with both hands, not only did she finally get her son back, but she also found herself falling down a rabbit hole and falling ridiculously in love with the idiot, Emma Swan.

Maybe her mother had been right. Maybe love really was weakness. If that was true, then every ounce of revenge she enacted on Snow and Charming was simply showing weakness. If it was true, her entire life was a lie. She wasn't really the Evil Queen. No, she was nothing more than a terrified Queen: terrified of falling in love and losing someone once again.

Getting too caught up in her own thoughts, Regina was completely oblivious to the fact that she had used a tremendous amount of powerful magic in such a short space of time. Her entire body had already began to pulsate, her heart was racing and echoing in her ears and the smell of iron overwhelmed her senses. Quickly lowering her hands and bringing them towards her bloody nose, Regina instantly knew that she had exhausted her body to extreme measures.

"Regina!" Snow and Charming yelled in unison as the raced towards the brunette, who was unconsciously swaying as if her body was deciding whether or not she could still hold herself up. By the time Charming had wrapped his arm around her upper body, she had become a dead weight, instantly collapsing with the weight on her legs.

"Well, well, dearie," Rumple chided as he came up beside Snow, who was looking rather terrified at the sight before them. "You may possess the wonderful trait of indefatigability, but you are not invincible. I strongly suggest you take a breather while we make our way over to the children's home. It should be a quick stop and maybe we can get something to liven you up a little."

Using her only bit of energy left to roll her eyes, Regina couldn't even bring herself to care that she was ungraciously slumped in the arms of Snow White's Prince Charming. Instead, she simply relished in the strong grip around her body that so kindly reminded her of the embrace Emma offered, which was something Regina was grateful for. Emma could have been unfortunate enough to share many of the traits her mother possessed, rather than her father's traits that she had been graced with.

"I can give you a little booster, but you're going to need to allow your body to build itself back up to its original strength." Rumple told her as he magicked the blood away from her nose and pressed two fingers to her temples. With a quick jolt of magic, Regina felt the sudden surge of energy plough its way through her body. Rather than dwelling on Rumple's good deed, she pushed herself off the ground and dusted off any imperfections on her outfit.

"Shall we?"

*#*#*#*

Although she walked herself to the children's home, Regina could already feel her energy and her magic coursing through her veins as her body repaired itself. She had always seen herself to be a machine — that's why she worked herself so hard. It was simply because she knew that she merely needed a quick breather before coming back out on the top of her game. She had pushed herself so many times during her youth that it surprised her whenever her body gave up on her like it had done. She had expected her body to be the reliable temple that she had always worshipped it to be. Little did she know, her body wasn't as strong as it had been thirty years ago, when she spent every day fighting for her life. Back then her body had been trained to withstand immense amounts of power surges, but now, after spending so long doing very little on such a scale, her body had lost its strength.

As a form of relief, the sight of the children's home brought an unconscious smile to Regina's lips. She watched as children chased each other with smiles on their faces, without a care in the world. Their laughter was like a nostalgia shock for Regina. As she watched them play her mind travelled back to when Henry was so young, carefree and utterly happy with the life his mother had given him. She had wanted to wish that his life was still the same — still as carefree and happy, but the thought of it being just the two of them again didn't seem so happy. It seemed rather miserable, in fact.

"Good morning, Madam Mayor," the sweet voice pulled Regina out of her thoughts rather abruptly.

"Charlotte," Regina gave a genuine smile to the teenager, actually feeling rather grateful to see a familiar face that she didn't want to severely injure. "I'm sorry, dear. You startled me for a moment."

"My apologies, Mayor Mills," she ducked her head rather sheepishly, making Regina chuckle at the gesture and raise the girl's chin with the tips of her fingers.

"You can call me Regina, you know?" At that, Charlotte actually blushed and nodded her head slightly. "I was actually hoping to use your help this morning. Only if you were willing, that is."

"Yes. Yes, of course. Anything you need."

*#*#*#*

Regina, Rumple and the Charmings patiently waited in the children's home foyer for Charlotte to round up all of its inhabitants into the large playroom (a room that they had already searched and _surprisingly_ found nothing). It didn't take long for the teenager to take control of the rabble, what with her fierce attitude that always seemed to be lying dormant. Regina was actually pleasantly surprised with the girl's efficiency and capability of controlling such a task.

"She reminds me of you," Snow quietly said when she noticed the way Regina's eyes followed Charlotte and the small, fond smile that had appeared on her lips from the moment they saw her. "You were so much like her when we first met."

"I know," Regina said almost ruefully. She really did see her younger self in Charlotte, and that scared her. The teenager seemed happy and almost carefree as she went about her duties, yet beneath all of that there was power. Although the quartet had only seen a slight glimmer of what lay beneath the girl's cheerful demeanour, it was obvious that there was so much to divulge in.

"You're welcome to take a look now, Regina," Charlotte closed the door to the playroom behind her and smiled at the adults before her. "Amira is still in her room. Just try not to wake her because she becomes agitated and restless for the rest of the day if she's woken from a nap. She even makes it snow if she's really grumpy..."

With a short nod in their understanding, the Charmings and Rumple set off to search the house, leaving Regina behind momentarily.

"Thank you, dear,"

"It's my pleasure. I shall make you all some tea for when you're finished with your search, so if you should need me I will be in the kitchen." The smile on Charlotte's face didn't dissipate, even after she skipped off towards the large kitchen in the back of the house.

By the time Regina rejoined the other three, they were already making their way up to the first floor. On noticing her presence, Charming kindly informed her of what they had found during their ground floor search, to which Regina made her own conclusion of clearing up that they had found nothing of value in their search. Again.

As much as she wanted to lead their search, Regina knew her body couldn't handle the excessive use of magic all over again. Handing over the reins to Rumple was incredibly difficult, yet she obliged, simply because she wanted to make sure she had enough energy to get her through the day and ensure that they found Emma before the day was up. If she exhausted her body before they even found Emma, Regina would never forgive herself. She already blamed herself for getting Emma in this situation, she didn't need any more guilty weight on her shoulders. Regina only prayed that Emma would forgive her once she was safe again.

"This is Amira's room," Snow said as they stood in front of a beautifully hand painted door. The pink and purple swirls covered the entire door, accented by neatly painted butterflies and flowers that fell into the formation of Amira's name. "Did you want to check it, Regina?"

"Yes, but I shall do it alone."

Regina gently pushed the door open, silently praying that it wouldn't creak and wake the sleeping child the room held. As she closed the door behind herself, she procured the lightest piece of magic she could conjure as a precaution that some twisted bastard wasn't using the child's room as a gateway to whatever it was they were doing. When the magic simply fell, the brunette couldn't help but let out a light sigh of relief. The thought of someone taking advantage of a child's magical ability to hide their own sickening deeds made Regina's blood boil. True enough, she had done some vile things in her past that led her to manipulate others just to cover her own back, but she had never once even considered doing something that would put a child in harm's way.

The sound of Amira gently stirring was enough to prompt Regina out of her thoughts to realise that she was leaning over the crib in the centre of the room, watching the child sleep. Seeing the peaceful look on the girl's face reminded her of how she would sit beside Henry's crib during his infancy to watch her son sleep the peaceful sleep that she was never granted. With a gentle smile, Regina took her leave, cautious not to stir the child any more than she already had.

"Anything?" Rumple asked as soon as the door clicked shut.

She shook her head and took off towards the next couple of rooms, slowly beginning to lose her patience. She was tired, worried and downright terrified for a woman she once claimed to not care about. That had never been true though; Regina had always cared about Emma and she knew for a fact that Emma had cared about her too. That was something they had always done, whether they had liked it or not. Neither woman could help but care about the other.

The rest of the rooms in the children's home appeared to be completely empty and barren of any traces of Orientalis magic, much to Regina's disappointment. The loft had been completely empty (apart from holiday decorations and unused baby clothes), the playrooms on the two upper floors and the communal study rooms were completely normal — so much that Charming decided they should give up and try somewhere else. That was when Rumple finally revealed why he was so committed to searching the children's home.

"There's Orientalis magic here. I can feel it." He muttered, tracing his finger down one of the walls leading towards the kitchen where Charlotte was waiting for them with four steaming mugs of tea and a plate of cookies. "It is here, yet it refuses to allow us to find it."

"Is there anywhere else that we haven't looked?" Snow asked as she wrung her hands, taking a mug off coffee from Charlotte with a forced smile.

"Have you checked the basement?" The teenager questioned once everyone had taken a beverage.

"I…I didn't even know there was a basement here." Regina all but stuttered. She glanced between Charlotte and Rumple with a worried look on her face. If there was a basement, Regina wasn't even sure she wanted to take a look. She just couldn't deal with having searched another place only for them to find out that Emma wasn't there either.

"Yeah, we're not actually allowed in there. The only kid here that's allowed in is Hayden and that's only because he grows vegetables or something down there. Only he has the key to the lock." Charlotte told them like it was nothing, except, what she didn't know was that behind Regina's plain and unimpressed facade, the cogs were turning in her mind faster than ever before.

"Hayden…that's the kid with the white gloves, right?" Charming asked, seemingly to be on the same page as Regina.

"Yes," Regina breathed before turning quickly to Charlotte. "Where is Hayden now?"

"Blue came to get him just before you arrived — something to do with their Miner's Day plantations."

"Rumple, can you unlock it? Checking Amira's room practically took it out of me again," Regina took a step towards the old wooden door that Charlotte had shown them. Her heart raced in her chest at the expectations. She really didn't want to get her hopes up, but with it being the first proper lead they had been given since Emma had disappeared, Regina couldn't stop herself from hoping that they had finally reached her.

With a quick flourish of his hand, Rumple unlocked the padlock on the door and waved Regina through, following closely behind. Every step she took was taken with a nervous precaution, careful not to miss a step on the staircase leading to the pitch black basement. The stench didn't hit her until she finally reached the last step. The iron-like smell of rotting flesh filled her nostrils and her heart began to pound. At the rate her heart was beating, Regina was fairly certain that it was about to pop out of her chest and land on the ground in front of her.

Taking as many deep breaths as she could to calm herself without making herself hurl, Regina forced herself to relax. The further she ventured into the basement, the less she could see, prompting to do the only thing she could think of: conjure a fireball. As soon as the light from her hand appeared, the entire room reflected the light, giving her enough light to see the sickening sight directly before her.

_"Emma…"_


	15. Paging Dr. Whale

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Paging Dr. Whale**

Regina had almost wished she had walked directly into the blonde, rather than lighting the fireball in her hand. From the brightness of the flames, Regina could see everything. Her eyes went straight to the chains that kept Emma elevated, then travelled down to the fresh laceration on the blonde's stomach until finally passing a chaste look to the dangerously scary puddle of blood that covered most of the floor.

From what she could see where her feet were practically weighed to the ground, Regina had quickly noted that Emma was still alive - she was barely breathing and completely unconscious, but the Saviour was alive. Her chest heaved above the pressure of her thumping heart. The fear and worry that had built in Regina's chest still managed to overpower the immensely relieved feeling that had washed over the brunette; they still had to get Emma out of her bonds and to the ER before she could even consider allowing herself to relax a little.

The way Emma hung limply from the ceiling of the basement made Regina's stomach turn. Her eyes had soon become fixated on the distressed look that had devoured the blonde's face and the constantly dripping blood that seemed to be collecting at her shoulders before making its way down her body and onto the floor. Even though the skin-tight dress Emma had been wearing for their date two days ago was a deep shade of red, the blood that had seeped through the material was clearly noticeable and physically sickening.

When a gentle hand was placed on the small of her back, Regina couldn't help but feel rather startled and out of place. "We don't have much time, Regina." Rumple told her with as much sincerity as he could muster. "Go to her. Get her down and help her through this."

With a fragile nod, Regina forced her legs to move from their spot, surprising herself when she actually formed into a sprint and hurled her body towards Emma's. When their bodies collided with an ' _oomph_ ', Regina wrapped her arms around Emma's torso as tightly as she could, completely forgetting about the fact that her own clothes were pushing against the laceration on Emma's stomach until her hands were met with even more blood. That's when Regina and Emma let out identical whimpers; Emma's emphasised the amount of pain coursing through her body from the impact on her injuries and Regina's simply highlighted the absolute terror that had completely swallowed her entire being when she realised that Emma sported another three lacerations on her back.

Regina had to hold back a sob when she lifted her head from where it had found comfort in Emma's bloodied shoulder. The blonde was rousing from her unconscious state and was clearly delusional after everything she had been through.

"Come on, Emma. Wake up," the brunette practically begged as she moved her hands to take Emma's face in her palms. "I need you to wake up so we can get you out of here, okay?"

She hadn't even been expecting Emma to answer her, especially not the first time she tried, but when Emma's eyelids fluttered open and widened at the sight before her, Regina actually had to stop herself from bursting into tears of joy.

"M'kay," Emma mumbled, trying so incredibly hard to keep her eyes open.

"Rumple, unlock her chains," Regina ordered, lifting some of Emma's weight off her wrists. "I've got you, okay? Don't try to catch yourself."

"Can't…" The blonde's voice came out more like a moan which made Regina have to focus more on using as much of her strength to keep from dropping the other woman to the floor. It wasn't until the chains were released that Regina had actually realised what Emma had said. "Can't move."

Lowering herself and Emma to the floor as slowly and gently as she could, Regina glanced at Emma and then to Rumple in the now dimly lit basement in utter confusion. The only person who seemed to know what Emma was talking about was Rumple. Having little patience before they even began their search, Regina's patience was now at an all-time low, so instead of questioning Rumple, she waited and watched. She watched as his hands glided through the air, making golden wisps in the air that crackled before disappearing.

"She's cursed, dearie." He bluntly told her, kneeling to get a better look at the blonde. "Miss Swan had been cursed to allow her to live through the pain and blood loss. Her limbs have been weighed down, cursed and locked into position. The moment we even consider attempting to release her of these curses is the moment she bleeds out and dies."

"Reassuring." Emma said as she groaned from her place in Regina's arms. When she was readjusted so her head rested on Regina's chest she hummed in gratitude and allowed her eyes to slip closed for just a second.

Emma almost would have been glad if Regina had missed it for a second. "Hey, you don't get to close your eyes on me. Not yet, okay?"

Oh, how Regina wanted punctuate her demand with a gentle kiss to the blonde's forehead. That was, of course, until she remembered how they had gotten into this in the first place. If Regina kissed her, the curses would break and Emma's blood would pour out of her body instantly and kill her within a matter of seconds. She just needed to refrain from doing something stupid, just until Emma was all hooked up to whatever machines possible at the hospital; then she could kiss the woman stupid.

When Rumple finally stood again and looked towards the stairs to the children's home kitchen, she realised that Snow and Charming hadn't actually followed them down there. They had waited upstairs, leaving all of their faith in the former Evil Queen and the still not-entirely-redeemed Dark One. Had Emma not been in such mortal danger, Regina probably would have laughed at the irony of the situation. Snow White and Prince Charming were putting all of their trust and faith in a woman they had set out to kill on multiple occasions.

"I'm still not strong enough to carry her, Rumple,"

Regina inwardly kicked herself for sounding so little. So helpless. She was actually asking Rumplestiltskin to help her with her True Love for the second time. That was something she had never expected to do again in her entire life. She hated herself for needing to rely on someone else to save someone she loved. People were useless and couldn't be trusted. Regina had learnt that long ago, but right now, asking for just a little bit of help was something she just couldn't turn her nose up at. It was the smallest window of opportunity that she needed to jump through; consequences be damned.

"Get Charming." She pulled Emma even closer, stroking dirty, bloody, blonde hair that fell over her arm. "And towels. She's freezing and the blood just won't stop."

For the first time, Rumple didn't argue. Instead, he nodded his head and made for the stairs and kitchen door as fast as he could. That was when Regina actually allowed herself to break down. The sobs that had threatened to take over her body were finally escaping as she rocked the blonde woman in her arms.

"I'm so sorry," she began muttering through her hyperventilations. "This shouldn't have happened. This is all my fault. If I hadn't invited you over for dinner with Henry and me, you never would have been in this situation and you would have been safe and happy and…and more alive than you are right now."

"No…" Emma breathed out, resulting in her wincing from the pain that still coursed through her body, making her weaker and weaker every second. "Not your fault, 'Gina."

Regina couldn't stop herself from smiling at the fact that Emma definitely wasn't going to blame her for this, or even consider blaming her for this. Her smile remained until she actually realised what Emma had called her. That's when the frown and glare appeared - looking far less intimidating as tears still continued to fall down her cheeks.

"Please tell me you did not just call me ' _Gina_ '," Miss Swan." Regina's voice was still husky and deep from the effects of her grief but she couldn't hide the slight amusement in her tone.

Emma's breathy laugh and weak smile would have been enough, but Emma Swan was stubborn. She never stopped when her body screamed that she should.

"Too tired," she started before pinching her facial features together out of pain once more, "couldn't finish."

"I will let it slide this time, dear," Regina told her, pushing strands of blonde hair behind a bloody ear, knowing all too well that this definitely wasn't going to be the last time she would let it slide. Emma had a knack for shortening people's names into little nicknames. Undoubtedly, this was going to be hers. "As soon as your father gets here we're taking you straight to the hospital. You can rest there, okay?"

"Mhmm," was the only thing Emma could manage. With her curse being lifted slowly every second, she could feel her body becoming physically weaker. It didn't take long for her to lose her ability to speak, so instead, she kept her eyes firmly on Regina's tear stained face and tried to force a smile onto her own lips.

It wasn't lost on Regina that Emma was really trying to remain conscious and awake. The fight in the blonde's eyes left no room for argument, so she simply held the other woman as close as she could until Charming came bumbling down the stairs (followed by a rather disgruntled Rumplestiltskin who was carrying a few towels in his hands), muttering incoherent statements under his breath.

From the way Charming came into view, Regina instantly knew that he needed to fight off a rather determined Snow before actually descending the stairs. When she noticed that Snow wasn't following closely behind, it quickly became obvious that Charming had to convince his wife to stay put with Charlotte in the kitchen. Although she couldn't hear what had happened between the couple, nor had she expected to hear anything, just by the look on Charming's face could tell her that their conversation hadn't really gone his way.

The moment Charming's eyes adjusted to the barely lit basement, he spotted his barely conscious daughter laying in the arms of a woman that looked just as terrified as he felt.

"Oh, Emma," he whispered under his breath.

It took no more than three large strides from the former shepherd to reach Emma and Regina before he dropped to his knees in front of them. Wasting no time in his rescue, Charming gently took Emma's limp neck into the crook of his left arm and slid his right under his daughter's legs, safely lifting her and holding her close to his chest.

"What do we do?" Charming asked Regina as she stood, taking towels from Rumple and wrapping the blonde's wounds as tightly as she could.

"We have to get her straight to the hospital so they can prepare her before we lift her curses," Regina told him without looking at him. She couldn't. She could only see the fear in his eyes: the fear that resided in the pit of her stomach. So instead, she held onto Emma's gaze. The woman needed an anchor to the world and Regina, for the very first time, was glad to give it. "If we don't get there soon we could lose her."

The thought of losing Emma made Regina feel physically sick, not for the first time today either. She had lost too many people in her life and she could not and would not lose Emma. Not this time.

"I sent Miss Blanchard to retrieve your car," Rumple told her, completely ignoring the look of disdain that appeared on her face. "She should be outside any second now."

Regina nodded as she placed a protective hand on the back of Emma's head and followed Charming up the staircase and back into the kitchen where they were met by Charlotte and a slowly waking Amira. Charlotte's sharp gasp instantly startled Regina into a panicked frenzy.

"Charlotte, you need to go. You need to get everyone out of here and keep yourselves safe and away from Hayden, do you understand?"

"We're the only ones left here." Charlotte told the brunette rather sheepishly. "Sister Astrid took everyone to the convent."

"Then you need to join them and make sure that the both of you are safe." Regina placed a comforting hand on the teen's upper arm and her other on Amria's back, offering the teenager a reassuring smile, not knowing whether or not she was attempting to comfort the girl or herself. "Everything is going to be okay, but I need you to do this for me."

"Can we come with you? I can drive and we won't be anywhere near Hayden and you will know where we are and then at least I'll know that Sheriff Swan is okay," Charlotte practically pleaded. "Please."

Regina stood torn between agreeing the teenager and her mayoral duties than her motherly actions. She wanted Charlotte and Amira as safe as they could possibly be, but she really didn't want them seeing something that could have a bad outcome. That's when Emma's coughing jolted her immediately out of her thoughts. She needed to get the blonde straight to the hospital, so at that point, she really didn't care what happened. All she really wanted was her family.

"Fine, but I'll need you to fetch my son, Henry from Granny's and bring him with you. He should be with Ms. Lucas." Regina told her as the four quickly headed out of the children's home with Rumple trailing behind them, muttering an ancient spell under his breath; one that even Regina didn't recognise. "You have to promise me that you won't tell him what has happened. Do you understand, Charlotte?"

"Yes, of course." Regina pressed a gentle kiss onto the top of Charlotte's head and one to match on Amira's before shooing them off towards the people carrier that the convent used to transport the children to their rightful schools.

As Snow put Regina's car into park, Charming ushered the brunette into the back seat of her Mercedes and gently lowered his daughter into her arms. Snow hadn't even turned to glance at her daughter from the front seat of the vehicle, but Regina knew that she was distraught. The constant sniffles and ragged breaths were enough to tell her that the other woman hadn't stopped weeping from the moment she discovered that they had found her only child.

Charming joined Regina in the back seat, pulling Emma's legs onto his lap while Rumple retook his seat beside Snow.

"Just drive," Charming told her. "Drive as fast as you can and don't stop until we get there."

And Snow did exactly that. The Mercedes screeched out of the street that housed the convent and the children's home, completely ignoring the huge stop sign before the busy crossroads. Cars around them swerved, beeped their horns and some even stopped in the middle of the road. What they were doing was dangerous and they knew it, but no one inside the car was actually willing Snow to go any slower. Even Rumple seemed rather anxious about getting to the hospital sooner rather than later.

When they finally reached the hospital, Snow pulled the car to an abrupt stop in the ambulance bay, earning herself a few offensive yells about obstruction of which she completely ignored with a glare that made Regina smirk in spite of herself. Charming scrambled out of the back seat of the car and quickly ran to Regina's aid, pulling his daughter back into his arms and practically sprinted straight towards the Emergency Room.

"Someone get Whale!" Regina yelled the second they burst through the doors. The entire nursing staff stopped dead in their tracks, looking at the dying blonde in utter shock. "Quit gawking and help us, damn it!"

That was enough to send the entire group into a frenzy, grabbing a gurney, preparing a private trauma room and paging Dr. Whale as many times as they could. One of the male nurses took Emma from Charming's arms and lay her atop of the gurney, pushing her into the trauma room while yelling instructions to his fellow co-workers.

Within moments of Emma being inside the trauma room, Regina helplessly watched as the blonde was hooked up to almost every machine possible; wires were attached to her chest, tubes were inserted into her arms and an oxygen mask was placed over her face. Through all of the chaos and the shouting, Emma still fought enough to keep her eyes open and completely fixed on Regina. In that very moment, Emma saw no one else.

It wasn't long before the nurses began cutting the blonde out of her skin tight dress to start addressing the severe lacerations that covered her body. Regina couldn't move. She wanted to. Oh gods, how much she wanted to, but the sight of Emma laying helpless in the hospital bed covered in equipment terrified her into omission. She couldn't even speak. She wanted so much to tell them that no matter what they did nothing could heal her while she was still under the curse. They needed Dr. Whale and they needed him now.

"Where the hell is Whale?" Charming barked as if he was actually reading Regina's mind. Internally, he was fighting the same battle as Regina, but when his wife collided with his side in an attempt to muffle her tears in his chest, he knew he needed to take action and find out what the hell was going on.

"We've paged him," one nurse shouted over the chaotic scene around them.

"We've all paged him at least ten times," another nurse joined in, pushing a cart past the three in the doorway.

"Then page him again!" Regina ordered, finally finding herself in the midst of a mental breakdown. She couldn't even stop herself from running to Emma's side and taking the blonde's wired hand in her own. "Nothing you're doing will actually work until we lift Emma's curse, so get Dr. Whale right now and tell him that he needs to save Emma."

One of the nurses, Regina recognised, was one of her former guards. He was a healer in the Enchanted Forest too, but never really put his skills to work unless they were thoroughly needed. He was the only nurse to move. During his time serving and protecting the Evil Queen he had seen almost everything there was to see about the woman, especially being one of her personal guards. He had seen her cry, laugh, fight and he had even seen her at her most terrified; adding this moment to his list, he knew there was something beneath the fear that he had never seen before: love. That's why he moved so fast. Whatever it was between the mayor and the saviour, he didn't know, but he did know his queen and whatever she was feeling in that moment was something she really wasn't in control of.

"What does she mean?" Regina heard Snow ask her husband from their place in the doorway. "What does she mean that nothing will work?"

"Emma's under a curse; a curse that is slowly killing her. We can't stop her from bleeding out until we lift the curse, but once it's been lifted, we have to act fast otherwise she could die within seconds." Regina told her rather than waiting for Charming's explanation. She glanced down at the blonde, whose eyes were slowly shutting and gave her hand a tight squeeze, stirring her to remain awake for just a little while longer. Regina could see she was exhausted, but she could also see that if the blonde even considered giving up now, she would never wake. "Come on, Emma. Stay with me for just a little bit longer, okay?"

Regina watched with a sad smile as Emma took a deep and ragged breath, trying to hold on for dear life. She felt nauseous, tired, weak, and mostly, she felt cold. The blood in her body had been pouring out constantly for almost seventy-two hours, Emma had even wondered whether there was even enough blood in her body to do such a thing.

The nurses in the room had stopped everything. They had stopped applying stitches to Emma's wounds, they had stopped pumping insulin into her body and some had even stopped trying to clean the gaping wound on her stomach. The only nurse that remained doing something was the male nurse that had carried Emma onto the gurney when they first arrived. He sat beside Regina with gauze, several bowls of clean water and a bottle of iodine, unconsciously cleaning the seeping wound while impatiently waiting for Dr. Whale to arrive.

It didn't take much longer before the former guard now turned nurse to return to the trauma room with Whale trailing behind like a puppy with his tail between his legs. Too afraid to look at Regina, who was still cradling Emma's hand, he checked Emma's ever declining vitals on the monitor beside her bed and ordered a few nurses to return with at least a dozen pints of O+ bloods and a CBP machine.

"Rumple told me everything outside," Whale finally spoke up as he cautiously placed two defibrillator pads on Emma's chest, simply for precaution, hoping that he wouldn't have to actually charge the paddles. "The three of you have to leave. If I'm going to do this I can't have any distractions. I can't have any of you in here."

"If you think for a second that I'm leaving her in your hands, you've got another thing coming." Regina warned him with one of her infamous glares. "I'm pretty sure we've been in this situation before, so there's not a chance in hell that I'm trusting you again this time."

"I'm not doing this for you," he spat back at her, daring to come face to face with a woman he once feared, hated and even attempted to murder in cold blood. "I'm doing this for her and her boy. She gave me my memories back and I think Henry deserves to keep a mother that actually loves him."

Low in her throat, Regina let out a deep, animalistic growl through gritted teeth. From everyone on the sidelines, including Snow and Charming, could practically see Regina's blood visibly bubbling. The ferocious stance and the deathly glare that Regina had seemed to have mastered throughout her life was enough to make the majority of the nurses in the room tremble. The only person who seemed unaffected by Regina's fury was Whale. He stood on the opposite side of Emma's bed with a sadistic smirk on his face. Her arms tensed and her usually delicate hands curled into tight fists, ready to attack.

That was when Regina attempted to swing for him before strong arms wrapped around her upper body and pulled her into the corner of the trauma room.

"Unhand me!" She shrieked when she finally realised that Charming had to pin her against the wall from thrashing out at the doctor. "Let me go or I _will_ destroy you, Charming."

"Regina, listen to me;" Charming began, trying to block out the woman's view of Whale. "He's a jerk, I know, but he's Emma's only hope. If you kill him, you're killing Emma too."

Regina sobered instantly, dropping her head to her chest and inwardly thanking every possible god for Charming's guttural instincts. She groaned as she attempted to bite back a sob and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. The entire situation frustrated her; she wanted to yell, scream, hit and maybe even consider killing Whale on the spot, but more than that, she wanted Emma. She wanted her Emma to wake up with that stupid grin on her face, expecting everything to return to normal. She wanted that idiot back in her life for good and if that meant not disrupting Whale any more than she already had then so be it.

When Regina's ragged breathing started to even out once again, Charming rubbed his hands up and down Regina's upper arms in attempt to calm her a little more before asking: "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she automatically replied, receiving a disbelieving look and a raised eyebrow from Charming that reminding her more of Emma than actually condescending her. "I _will be_ fine."

With a nod of his understanding, Charming finally let go of the brunette and allowed her to rejoin his daughter at her bedside in silence. Whale on the other hand, took Regina's silence as an approval to continue with his work on saving the Saviour and began yelling orders to his team of nurses to start packing Emma's lacerations with gauze and towels in preparation of lifting the curse.

Moments later, the several nurses that had been sent on a wild goose chase to find enough blood to refill Emma's body returned with over twenty pints of bloods – "just in case" one nurse told them. When Rumple was finally instructed to join them, Regina's entire body went ridged. Her grip on the blonde's hand tightened so much it made Emma wince. She was still barely hanging on by a thread and Regina could finally see how tired she was. Emma Swan, the Saviour, was tired of fighting.

"Snow, Charming, Regina," Whale said when his nurses and Rumple were all in position and ready to procure Emma's life. "I'm going to have to ask you all to step outside now. This could be distressing and I can't have the three of you telling me how to do my job. When Emma is stable once again, you will be invited into her room one at a time."

Regina's anger built once again. Her mind began to scream refusals and demands that she needed to stay at Emma's side throughout the entire procedure, yet nothing actually left her mouth. She simply stared at the doctor completely dumbfounded.

"The sooner you leave, Regina, the sooner we can fix her," the nurse/guard told her with a comforting hand on her shoulder. "If it makes you feel any better, I shall keep you updated as often as I can."

With a weak nod and a light squeeze of Emma's hand, Regina finally forced herself out of the trauma room and into the waiting area of the emergency room. Her mind was racing with ifs, and buts, and maybes that did nothing more than terrify her even more than she already was. She was drowning herself in negative outcomes, too afraid to even consider a positive one, just in case Whale walked out of the door with his head hung and his tail between his legs. She couldn't even put her mind towards the thought of their date night on the night everything went wrong. Every time she thought about it brought the brutal reminder that everything happened because of her - even if Emma refused to believe it was her fault.

She hadn't even realised that she was staring straight back into the trauma room through the window that divided the two rooms. Her view of the blonde wasn't perfect through the horizontal blinds, but it was something. She watched with bated breath as nurses began attaching Emma to blood transfusions, ready for when the curse broke. She watched as Dr. Whale attempted to reassure an almost unconscious Emma before pushing some morphine into her arm.

That's when everything dramatically changed.

The slow and calm pace that everyone seemed to be adapted to changed drastically when Rumple raised his hands at the foot of Emma's bed and muttered the Elvish words under his breath, emitting a golden light from his fingertips. Then, everything began moving too fast for Regina to even comprehend what was happening on the other side of the triple glazed glass.

Emma's body arched in the air as she let out a blood-curdling scream. The immense pain that she was already feeling completely took over her body within seconds of the magic hitting her system. Part of her was fairly positive that Rumple had actually sent fire to course through her arteries, rather than actually doing what he had promised Regina.

Before she could allow the darkness to take over her completely, Emma thought of Regina, practically screaming in her mind to the brunette.

**_'I love you,'_ **

That was when her mind went completely back.

It didn't take long for Snow and Charming to come running to Regina's side when they heard their daughter scream. Snow was already in hysterical fits of tears, but when she saw Whale and the nurses frantically running around Emma she was certain that she was about to pass out. Her daughter's body shook with vigor that no one believed possible.

Regina's heart leaped in her chest when she heard Emma's voice invade her mind. She knew Emma couldn't hold on any longer, all she could do now was wait, allow Whale to save her and pray to every almighty being that Emma knew she loved her too.

Whale yelled a few words at some of his staff, frustrating Regina to no end that she couldn't hear what they were saying. She knew she wouldn't be able to understand half of the things he was saying, but for her own mental health, she felt like she needed to know everything. So, placing her hand firmly against the glass, Regina thought deeply of the book of spells her mother had clung onto so dearly and recited the exact spell she needed.

Instantaneously, her ears filled with nervous voices and demands that she couldn't quite decipher.

"Push another two of morphine and apply more pressure to her stomach. Her heart rate is dropping, people! If we don't move fast, we're going to lose her!"

Regina's breath caught in her throat at Whale's words. Her eyes instantly became glued to his every movement. Her mind hadn't even registered the constant beep that echoed through the room until Whale actually addressed it.

"She's coding! Someone get me a crash cart, stat!" The response time of some of Whale's nurses were impeccable. Before he had even finished his orders, the cart was by his side. "Williams, push one of epi and prepare to charge to two-hundred."

The doctor picked up the defibrillator paddles as the nurse Williams injected a clear liquid into Emma's body and dialed a few codes into the machine.

"Clear!" Every nurse around Emma's bed raised their hands away from her and simply watched as Dr. Whale pressed the paddles to her chest, shocking her body slightly off the gurney once more. A deathly silence filled the room as everyone looked towards the heart monitor beside Emma's bed, looking for a change in her flat heart rate before deciding that nothing was going to happen before trying again.

"Charge to three-hundred this time," Whale instructed as he replaced the paddles to Emma's chest with more determination on his face than anyone had ever seen before. "And clear!"

When Emma's body rose off of the gurney once again, Regina shifted her eyes onto the heart monitor before everyone else's. The straight line that showed Emma's heart activity refused to budge, making Regina slam her fist against the glass with a weepy scream. She knew all too well what a flat line meant.

Everyone tending to Emma shifted their attention to the distraught brunette in the window. The last thing Regina heard before she was pulled away from the window was Dr. Whale handing out more instructions.

"Get me a chest tray. I'm going to crack her chest."


	16. Hello, Beautiful

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Hello, Beautiful**

One of the nurses that had manned the front desk of the Emergency Room fearlessly wrapped his arms around Regina's waist and pulled her away from the window as quickly as he could, sending another nurse into the room to shut the blinds from any prying eyes; mainly for the Charmings' and Regina's own sakes. He dragged her towards the cushioned benches in the middle of the room and set her down gently, letting her calm slightly before sitting beside her.

As much as he wanted to place his arm around her shoulders to comfort her, he was too terrified of her reaction. In the Enchanted Forest, she had ordered the death of almost everyone in his village, so if he was completely honest with himself, he was feeling rather torn about the situation. When the Charmings finally took a seat beside them, he shared a glance with Charming, who offered a silent agreement to switch positions.

Charming really despised himself in that very moment to comfort the former Evil Queen instead of his own wife, but he knew deep down that Regina needed him more than Snow did. Snow had her family; she had her True Love and happy ending, whereas Regina; well, she had her happy ending ripped away from her once before, her True Love lay dying on a hospital gurney and Henry was still nowhere to be found. Regina needed him more than she ever needed anyone in that very moment.

Before leaving his wife's side, Charming gathered the tiny brunette in his arms and held her close to his chest, trying with all of his might to remain as strong as he could. He held a protective hand against the back of her head and strategically placed several kisses to crown of her head before whispering:

"She's going to be fine. Whale will save her and she's going to live. We are not going to lose our daughter again, I promise."

But he couldn't promise that. He had no clue whether he would ever see his daughter's bright green eyes again and her giddy smile that made him laugh every time he saw it. He couldn't even remember the last thing he had said to her. All he hoped, was that Emma would fight like the Charming she was and come out of this with nothing more than a few bad memories and a couple more scars to add to her collection. He kissed his wife one more time before letting her go and taking up the seat beside Regina.

The older brunette was uncharacteristically slumped forward, with her elbows digging into her thighs and quietly sobbing into her hands. In that very moment, Charming could see how much the woman had changed. In all of the years he had known her and fought against her, never had he once seen the woman break down into fits of tears or even consider allowing herself to appear vulnerable for even a second. The once strong and mighty Regina Mills had been broken down into a small, terrified woman that had no idea how to hold herself together in such a situation. She hadn't even let herself fall apart this much in Neverland.

With a gentle touch, Charming wrapped his arm around Regina's shaking shoulders and attempted to pull her into his side embrace, much to Regina's dismay. Her entire body stiffened in distaste when Charming's arm came into contact with her shoulders and a deep growl built in her throat. She didn't lift her head from her hands, yet she still managed to sound intimidating.

"Don't. Touch. Me." She all but spat through her sobs as she attempted to gracefully shrug his arm away. "I don't need your sympathy."

"I don't actually care, Regina," his arm wrapped tighter around her frame, completely ignoring any of her attempts to release herself from his hold. "You need Emma and right now, I'm the closest thing you've got until Henry gets here."

Just the mention of the other woman's name relaxed Regina slightly. Her tense shoulders loosened and her breathing evened as much as it could through her never ending tears.

"Shouldn't you be comforting your wife?" Regina timidly asked, though she mentally chastised herself for sounding so pathetic, making Charming turn slightly to see his wife sobbing into the chest of the nurse that had come to their aid. He knew Snow was hurting, yet she was more trusting than Regina, so handing his wife over to the other man was an easier feat than having to deal with Regina if she decided to terrorise the nurse for attempting to help her.

"She's in good hands," he told her, expecting her to snort or hand off a sarcastic remark. Instead, she lifted her head slightly to see the scene beside them. "And so are you, and so is Emma."

This time, when Emma's name left Charming's lips her heart practically leapt into her mouth. Every ounce of fear that had been building up and coursing through her veins finally bubbled over and hit her like a ton of bricks. Her chest felt tight, her heart rate sped up and the tears in her eyes knew no boundaries. It was like every single negative feeling in her body had come out to play. For what felt like the millionth time that day, Regina really wanted to throw up.

Regina sat up slightly and risked a glance at the trauma room window in the hopes of possibly seeing something good. Instead, all she managed to see was the backs of several nurses and the nurse from her personal guard, who instantly took his leave to reassure the trio in the waiting room, ignoring the fact that the blinds should have been shut the moment the Charmings and Regina left the trauma room.

"She's stabilising," he said aloud, not really telling anyone in particular; it was more directed to the floor than anything else. "Dr. Whale had to crack her chest and massage her heart after her cardiac arrest. They're stitching her up as best as they can before they can actually pump more blood back into her body. Right now, I can't tell you if she's doing well or not because of what she's just been through, but the open-chest cardiopulmonary resuscitation seemed successful."

The sob in the back of Regina's throat that managed to escape was just as surprising to her as it was to everyone else. "So you're telling me that she could still die?!" She yelled as she glared at the nurse before her with a slightly dumbfounded look behind her harsh eyes.

"It's a possibility, yes." His honesty was something Regina couldn't chastise. In fact, she was glad that he didn't attempt to sugar coat it like anyone else would have. "But the possibility that she could pull through is just at strong. We're just going to have to wait and see."

"And Rumple? What the hell is he still doing in there?" Regina rose to her feet, hated feeling like she was being spoken down to. "He either needs to be helping or he needs to get the hell away from her."

"He's trying her heal her. Emma's laceration on her stomach was deeper than the ones on her back, so it caused a lot of internal damage. He's trying his best to fuse her flesh and some of the outer skin without causing too much damage to himself. Rumple says he's trying to keep enough magical energy just in case Emma begins to decline."

Regina weakly nodded in an attempt to both thank and dismiss the nurse before she broke down again. She threw her hands to her face and her body began to shake before Charming even registered that the brunette needed someone to hold her. He stood, collected her in his arms and held her tightly. This time she didn't even think about shrugging away his embrace. Instead, she let him hold her as she wept and shook into his strong, muscular chest, forgetting her resolve completely and simply reveling in the moment of having someone comfort her.

"They're just making precautions; she's gonna be fine." He promised, pulling her back down to the cushioned waiting room seats. "She's going to come back to us and she's going to be fine."

*#*#*#*

By the time Charlotte arrived with Amira in her arms and Henry trailing closely behind, Regina and Snow had exhausted themselves to the point where they had both fallen fast asleep on the waiting room chairs. Charming had laid Regina down onto two of the chairs while the nurse did the same for Snow on the adjoining pair. From any normal onlooker, the two women looked as though they were in complete peace with both themselves and each other. But the sight wasn't enough to take Henry's mind away from the fact that he had been taken from Granny's by some girl he had never met and dragged straight to the hospital where his blonde mother was most obviously absent from the rest of his family.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" He asked, sounding much younger than his years. "Where's Ma?"

"Henry, come here," Charming held out his arm to his grandson and led him to the chairs opposite Regina and Snow. "Something happened to Emma. We don't know exactly what happened or how it happened, but she was hurt-"

"My mom is hurt?! What happened?! Is she going to be okay? Please tell me she's going to be okay!" Henry interrupted, quickly throwing himself into the same hysterical state his brunette mother and grandmother had been in no more than an hour ago.

"We don't know," quickly encasing his grandson in a tight hug, Charming slowly began to rock him back and forth, "we don't know if she's going to be okay, bud. Dr. Whale is doing everything he can to save her. Mr. Gold is with her too."

"She can't die! She's the Saviour and she still hasn't saved the most important person." Charming's confused glance was enough to prompt Henry to continue. "She has to save the Evil Queen. Emma needs to save my mom once and for all. She's her true love; if she dies then my mom could go back to being the Evil Queen because that's what happened the last time!"

"Regina isn't going to turn back into the Evil Queen, Henry. When she became the Evil Queen the first time, she lost the only person she really loved. This time she has you and Emma isn't going to die, okay?"

For some reason, Charming couldn't find it in himself to attempt to stop Henry from believing that Emma could come out of this alive. As much as he wanted his only daughter to fight through this hell, he knew that there was such a small possibility that she could actually live through this. He didn't even know if he, Snow or even Regina would live through it either. After everything Emma had fought through and accomplished throughout her entire life, her father was adamant that she needed to make it out of this alive, happy and in the beginning of building a new family with her True Love. She deserved it - even more so after this.

"Is Mayor Mills okay, Mr. Nolan?" Charlotte asked on seeing the brunette curled into the fetal position with dry tear tracks down her cheeks. It worried her to see the usually strong and powerful woman seem so small and broken.

"Call me David," Charming told her as he offered the spare seat beside him. "She's going to be fine, Charlotte. She just needs some loving support and just a little bit of optimism; the same as all of us really."

Charlotte nodded and eventually took up the offered seat, cradling Amira in her lap.

The small child was almost asleep when Dr. Whale burst out of the trauma room, startling everyone, even Snow and Regina who burst out of their sleeping condition instantly, barely without giving themselves whiplash.

"We've got her." He panted with a growing grin on his face. "We've got her. Emma is alive, stable and healing well. She's going to be fine."

Regina's legs shook beneath her as she stood, almost betraying her trust and giving up on her. But they didn't. They kept their strength and allowed her to remain standing while she allowed the information to sink in slowly. A slight flutter in her stomach almost convinced her to run towards Dr. Whale, hug him and thank him dearly, yet whatever remaining pride she had left told her to stand her ground and simply thank the formerly barbaric doctor for saving Emma's life.

"Thank you, Whale," Charming said as he stalked over to the grinning doctor, ready to shake his hand as strongly as he could. "I really can't thank you enough for saving my little girl."

It didn't take long for Snow to join her husband at his side and thank the doctor profusely herself. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," she continued to mutter in her raspy tear drowned voice.

Regina couldn't even open her mouth, let alone thank the doctor herself. 'He's having enough gratitude from those idiots, his ego couldn't handle any more,' she thought to herself as Henry's body collided with her side in a tight hug. She hadn't even realised that her son had arrived until that very moment and her instant reaction was to hold him close as she let out a series of relieved, silent tears.

"Your Ma is fine. Emma is fine." She whispered into his hair while she cradled his head into her chest, more for her own reassurance than her son's. The words that Whale had shared weren't exactly the easiest things to process. "She will wake up and she will be fine, Henry. I promise."

"We're all going to be okay, Mom," Henry promised her, knowing full and well that his mother's natural pessimistic attitude was probably having a seizure somewhere in her mind. Throughout his life, Henry had learnt that his mother never believed good things could happen to her. She was constantly insisting that good things never last, yet this time, Henry knew she was wrong.

A short gasp escaped her lips at Henry's words and she squeezed her eyes together as tight as she could, praying to every god there was that she wouldn't actually cry at her son's mature ways. When she finally decided she was safe to open her eyes again, Regina spotted Charlotte and Amira watching them, the former with a teary smile on her face.

"Come here," Regina held out one of her arms to the two girls and pulled them into her embrace with Henry. "We are all going to be okay."

*#*#*#*

A little over an hour later, after the nurses had settled Emma into her private hospital room and Rumple had set her lacerations to a post-stitches state, Regina was granted permission to sit with the blonde until she woke, much to Snow and Charming's dismay. Their disappointment only heightened when one of the nurses told them that Emma still hadn't listed them as her parents in her medical records, so with Regina being the mayor, she was the only person who was granted access to the Sheriff until she roused from her medically induced sleep.

When she was led into room 216 by the nurse, Regina couldn't help but gasp at the sight of Emma tightly tucked into the huge hospital bed. Beneath the thin white and teal sheets that draped over her, Emma appeared to be tiny. Her usually muscled arms lay limp and scrawny by her sides and her cheeks looked dangerously hollow — a factor that she hadn't actually noticed until that very moment.

It was a distressing sight to say the least, but with the foreknowledge that Emma was going to be okay, Regina refused to stop herself from smiling.

"I shall grab you a chair and leave you," the nurse told her before quickly disappearing and soon reappearing with a high back, padded visitor's chair. "When she wakes, hit the big red button beside her bed. We'll need so run some tests on her to make sure her heart rate, blood pressure, mental stability, and several other things, are completely stable. We're also going to have to set her broken nose."

Regina nodded her gratitude and dragged the chair to Emma's bedside and quickly took the blonde's hand when she realised they were alone. As she sat at Emma's bedside with their fingers laced together, she couldn't even bring herself to cry this time. Oh, how she wanted to, there was just something inside that wouldn't actually allow another tear to fall. Instead, she allowed her inner monologue to run riot and tumble out of her lips for the first time in her life.

"This never would have happened if not for your constant dire need to be so utterly charming." Regina huffed, holding Emma's hand just a little tighter. "This is all your fault for making me kiss you in my damn kitchen. If that hadn't happened, we never would have found out that we shared True Love and you never would have had to come to my aid when the ghosts of my past decided to make their reappearance.

"Oh, and don't get me started on how that stupid kiss led me to drink myself to a stupor before our _date_ , which then made you tuck me into bed and leave because you were too honourable to even stay in the damned guest bedroom or on the couch. Your charming complex has never gotten you anywhere, dear. All it ever seems to do it get you into trouble and I don't think I can deal with that forever."

Regina growled low in her throat out of her irritation for the blonde woman in the bed before her. Just looking at Emma made her want to attempt to slap some sense into her, but since the woman was still practically dead to the world, Regina allowed her hands to a more gentle task. With her one hand wrapped tightly around a pale one, Regina reached up and brushed through Emma's dirty blonde locks. There was still thick clumps of blood hidden between the locks, but dragging her fingers through the limp curls was somewhat comforting, if not a little gory.

The clear plastic tubes that came from her broken and swollen nose, tucked behind her ears and met under her jaw were probably the scariest thing that Regina saw on Emma's person. The wires and the IV tube weren't even that disturbing. Just the thought of the other woman needing to rely on something so flimsy to keep her breathing made Regina's stomach flip. Emma could barely trust people enough to allow herself to rely on them, let alone rely on plastic tubes and machinery to keep her life going. All Regina wanted from that moment was to see Emma's eyes; to hear her voice; to see her smile.

"If you really want to keep up your idiotic, charming complex, you can do something for me: you can wake up and just say something." Regina's hand trailed down to the blonde's cheek, cupping it, she smoothed her thumb over Emma's pointed cheekbones. "I need to hear your voice. So please, wake up and say something, you idiot."

She waited a while, hoping that her voice would be enough to rouse the blonde from her slumber. When the blonde didn't even stir, Regina took her hand away from Emma's cheek and wrapped it around their joined hands before placing a delicate kiss upon pale knuckles. Her mouth lingered for a moment, distracting her from the deep grunt below her.

"Hello, beautiful,"

Regina rolled her eyes, internally chastising herself for even thinking that Emma would wake up saying such a thing. But then it dawned on her as the hand in her grasp tightened around her fingers. Within an instant, Regina's head shot up, giving her ample opportunity to watch the blonde as she forced her eyes open.

"Emma," Regina breathed, holding on even tighter than she was before.

"Hey," the blonde croaked when her eyes finally fluttered open and locked onto teary brown ones. "What happened?"

"Well, Miss Swan, let's just say that this hospital trip wasn't for the faint hearted," Emma almost laughed at the disapproving glare that Regina attempted to make convincing, but instead she raised her eyebrows and slowly grazed her thumb over the brunette's wrist. "When we got here, you were losing far too much blood, so when Rumple lifted the curses, you completely flat lined."

"Wait, I died?!" The fear in Emma's voice was evident, even through the dry whisper in which it came out.

"For a moment, yes. Dr. Whale used the defibrillator paddles but you didn't respond; you had gone into complete cardiac arrest." Taking a deep breath, Regina allowed her now shaking voice to calm before she continued. "They had to crack open your chest and massage your heart for it to start beating again."

Emma glanced down at her barely covered chest to look for any signs of what had happened, but found nothing other than a huge Band-Aid across her stomach - guessing that she probably had similar ones on her back too. Regina instantly knew what she was looking for.

"Rumple was able to heal that scar immediately. The others however, they will probably stay."

"Oh," Emma ducked her head in refusal to make any more eye contact with the woman at her bedside. Just the thought of those scars on her body for the rest of her life made Emma feel physically sick. She was already damaged goods, why the hell would Regina want her now?

The look of worry and disappointment on Emma's face was obvious. If Regina didn't know the blonde as well as she did, she probably would have thought that the usually immature woman was disappointed at the fact that she wouldn't be graced with a fifth battle wound from her little… adventure. But Regina did know her well. Too well, in fact. And she most certainly knew all about the self-loathing that was happening behind Emma's beautiful green eyes that seemed to suddenly be more focused on the bottom of the hospital bed than anything else.

"Emma Swan, you look at me right now," Regina demanded, taking the blonde's chin in her hand and gently turning her face towards her own. "You are beautiful with or without those scars. I don't care. I fell in love with you because you're you. Skin tight blue jeans and red leather jacket included. No one in this world is perfect in the eyes of everyone, but to me: you are. To me, you're perfect."

A lump grew deep in Emma's throat, practically cutting off her airways and making her breathing become ragged. Her eyes locked once again with Regina's as both pairs began to fill with a round of fresh tears. The silence that filled the room should have been incredibly awkward — more so for Regina — but to her surprise, it wasn't. In fact, both women were fairly certain that it was the most comfortable and intimate silence they had ever shared.

Regina Mills wasn't a coy woman, nor was she prudish with any forms of sexual desire, but in that very moment she suddenly felt like a shy school girl around her crush. Had the day not already been incredibly emotionally exhausting, she probably would have chastised herself for her several moments of vulnerability throughout the day — even more with this one.

"You are a beautiful woman, Emma. A few scars aren't going to change that."

"Even with my idiotic, charming complex and the scars?" Emma's voice was still weak, but it still managed to carry the humour that was swimming in her eyes. She sheepishly smiled at Regina and squeezed her hand as tight as she could — which wasn't very tight.

"Even more so,"

Regina couldn't stop herself even if she wanted to. From the moment she first kissed Emma in her kitchen, she hadn't stopped thinking about locking her lips with the blonde's over and over again. She craved the gentle caress of the other woman's tongue and the excitement that coursed through her body every time their lips came together. Regina leaned up towards Emma's face and quickly captured her lips in an act of complete infatuation and desperation.

The kiss was gentle, reassuring and undoubtedly comforting on both sides. With every ounce of her being, Emma wanted to pull the brunette closer and hold her while their lips slowly and softly slid together, but she couldn't. Every part of her body felt too heavy to even consider moving any more than she already had. When Regina realised that the blonde was still too tired to even embrace her, she pulled away and stood from her chair.

"Tell me if I hurt you," Regina warned, a partial preamble to her gently shuffling Emma across the bed. When the blonde gasped slightly, Regina stopped and waited for the pain to subside before going back to moving Emma into a more suitable position.

Once the space on the plastic wrapped mattress seemed to be enough, Regina hoisted herself onto the bed and pulled Emma into her arms; forgetting every single consequence, every negative thought and even the nurse's request that he was called upon Emma's awakening.

Emma's body fit perfectly into her own. Every curve and bump aligned to make a perfect shape on the bed, leaving only one thing untouched: their heads. Regina wrapped her arm around Emma's shoulder and pulled the blonde even tighter into her side, providing the blonde with ample opportunity to use her chest as a pillow.

With a contented hum and the steady beat of her heart rate monitor being the only sounds to fill the room, she took Regina's hand in her own once again and slowly began caressing the brunette's knuckles with her thumb. It was a simple gesture, yet so intimate. The way Emma constantly found ways to comfort her, Regina never failed to fall astounded at the amount of care the other woman gave compared to the care she had received throughout her life. Her astonishment remained even longer when she glanced down at their now entwined hands. Her eyes instantly became fixated on the loving way that Emma's thumb slowly drew patterns across the top of her hand.

"You shouldn't have gone through all of the trouble of getting me out of there," Emma said after a while, bringing Regina's attention to her face rather than their conjoined hands. "I actually had it all under control. I was just waiting for the opportune moment to get myself out of there."

Regina rolled her eyes before directing an empty glare towards the bedridden blonde. "Oh, I could see that. I just wanted to save you from that basement for my own ego. After all, I'm the one that should be redeeming myself in your mother's eyes; especially since she instantly believed that I had been the one to keep you captive. I can already see the headline of the Storybrooke Daily Mirror: 'The Evil Queen Saves the Saviour Gaining Full Redemption from Snow White'."

"Maybe they should print that." Emma mused with a slight smirk on her face. "But they'd have to mention that I had it all completely under control and you guys just burst in to destroy all the fun."

"Get used to it, my love. That what us good guys are infamous for."

Emma chuckled lightly, before letting out a deep groan of pain. She had been given some extremely high doses of pain relief medication - she could feel it as it coursed through her veins and made her head fuzzy - yet it failed to actually take away most of the pain and it hadn't even made her go slightly loopy from the effects of the drugs. The only thing that seemed to be soothing the pain was being tucked tightly in Regina's warm embrace.

"You need to rest," Regina told her as she pressed a button on the side of the bed to recline it slightly. "When you're asleep I shall find a nurse to give you some more pain meds."

"Could you tell me a story while I try to go back to sleep? Your voice makes me calm." Oh, there it was. Or was that just genuine honesty? Either way, Emma didn't care. All she cared about was being held by Regina Mills as she was told a story by the woman's deep, husky and completely sexy voice.

Regina smiled and rest her cheek on the top of Emma's head. "Of course," she whispered into blonde tresses that she so desperately attempted to avoid inhaling the smell of blood and rotting flesh from.

She paused for a short while, racking her brains for something she could tell Emma in order to lull her back to a peaceful and painless sleep. In that moment, all she could think about was Henry, Charlotte and Amira when she held the three children close to her chest in a point of sweet, sweet relief. That's when she knew she needed to tell Emma of the two girls that barreled into her life and her heart in less than forty-eight hours.

"When you wake up again, I want you to meet the two young girls I'm about to tell you about," Regina told her as she gently dragged her fingers across Emma's scalp and through her hair. "The youngest, Amira, is a miniature version of you, whereas your mother believes the eldest, Charlotte, is a miniature version of myself..."


	17. Cuddled By Clouds

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - Cuddled By Clouds**

_*The day of Emma's rescue*_

When the loud knocking echoed through the basement, his entire body stiffened. Every damn time he felt as though he was progressing in tainting the mind and heart of the renowned Saviour, he was pulled away. This time, he knew exactly who was demanding his presence: the Blue Fairy. He had suspected that she knew something yesterday when Regina burst through the doors, but he failed to believe that she would even consider acting upon such suspicions. He faked an irritated growl and took an intimidating step towards his hanging hostage.

"Would you look at that: our time is up." He drawled, lifting Emma's chin from where it hung limply at the centre of her clavicle. "Time to make this game a little more fun for the both of us."

He grinned at the sudden look of fear that flooded into Emma's eyes. She was terrified. The fear merely grew as the fingers that held beneath her chin trailed gently towards her left-side temple, prior to pressing a heavy amount of pressure on the area. He allowed the magic deep within his veins to travel through his body until it reached the outlet in his fingers where he began feeding the spell into Emma's already weak body.

"The curse keeping you alive is slowly deteriorating." He told her matter-of-factly. "The longer you take to realise that I am right and Regina is wrong, the closer you will be to your death. If you are as stubborn as it seems, you might reach death before you even realise the truth."

Just for his own sadistic entertainment (and maybe a little to speed up the process), he magically whipped another laceration across Emma's abdomen before slowly turning to leave, reveling in the sharp whimper that left her lips.

"Tick, tock."

As he hastily climbed the steps out of the basement, he heard Emma's dying cries as they became quieter and quieter the closer he came to the door. When a whimper fell weak and the basement became silent, he smirked to himself, knowing all too well that the Saviour was probably unconscious and dreaming of a magically induced hallucination of her son's father — the man she was supposed to marry.

A decision she had made over twelve years ago to steal a little yellow bug was probably the best decision she had ever made. But then she had made the worst decision of her life not very much later. When she decided to cut all of her ties with Baelfire, she had practically pushed herself towards failure, heart-break and a life full of lies.

When he emerged from the basement and replaced the padlock with his small enchantment, he found the Blue Fairy digging into one of Charlotte's freshly baked cookies that lay atop of the kitchen counter.

"Ah, Hayden," Blue said with a smile the moment she spotted the young man across the kitchen. His signature white gloves covered his bloodied hands, while there was not an ounce of muck anywhere on his being. It was almost as if he wanted to be caught. "We were supposed to meet in my study this afternoon to discuss your progress with the vegetables you're growing for the Miner's Days feast. I was hoping that you hadn't forgotten."

"Of course not. My apologies, Blue. I lost track of time down there; I seem to enjoy it far more than I believed." He told her as he watched Charlotte tidying the kitchen from her afternoon of baking. She refused to even acknowledge his presence. He knew she had never liked him. "Shall we?"

He held out his arm, gesturing towards the back door of the Children's Home and followed the Blue Fairy over to the convent without a doubt in his mind that she had suspected something out of the ordinary in his daily activities. ' _If she knew, she would be thrilled_ ,' he mused to himself. She herself had told him that she highly disliked imagining Emma's happy ending without Neal Cassidy in her life. He smirked, knowing he had definitely done well on her behalf. He almost wished that he had taken Regina in too.

His smirk grew into a grin when he spotted Regina, Rumple and the Charmings trekking through the surrounding acres of land, looking for the Saviour. He almost wanted to laugh out loud when he spotted the former Queen performing tracking spells as well as enchantment crackers that usually would have broken through anything — even his own spells and curses.

' _Idiots_ ,' he sneered inwardly.

When they finally reached the Blue Fairy's study, she cast a silencing enchantment and a barricade - that could only be broken and detected from the inside - around the room and locked the door. While doing so, Blue never took her eyes off of the young man that stood in the middle of the room. A young man that she had raised from such a juvenile age. A young man who had constantly exceeded her expectations in so many ways. She couldn't bring herself to look away from him, knowing that if she did, a sense of overwhelming pride would probably overtake her. And words of encouragement and praise were not to be handed out so freely just yet.

"Take a seat," she offered her hand towards the chair in front of her desk before taking purchase on the chair behind it. She watched him intently for a while, until she eventually began speaking again. "Hayden, do you remember our little conversation about the ghosts in this town and Emma Swan's True Love?"

"Word for word, Mother Superior. Why do you ask?"

"I want to know exactly what you have done with the Sheriff, Hans,"

He grinned at the use of his birth name, favouring it so much more than his curse given name. She only used it when she needed something of him or when she wished to discuss something serious with him. This was definitely one of the latter moments, that's for sure.

"Do you remember when you told me that Emma Swan is a child born of True Love, Mother? I understand that when a child like that falls in love with someone who loves them as equally, the love between them ultimately becomes true, whether they were destined to be together or not. That's why Emma and Regina broke the curse — because they love each other equally and unconditionally, so their love instantly became true the moment they kissed.

"Had Emma and Neal been in Storybrooke when they were in love, the Evil Queen's curse would have broken and the Queen would be no more." There was a sadistic smile that clung to his lips as he spoke with utter confidence. "Isn't that why you told me about your intentions with Regina and the ghosts? So we could stop Emma and Regina from falling more and more in love with each other?"

"Regina shouldn't be capable of love. Her heart is as black as the night — that kind of damage can't be healed, Hans, no matter how much white magic is fed through her dark soul. Everyone she loves ends up getting killed; either by her own hand or by the hand of someone else. I wanted Emma to see that. That is exactly why I brought back only the people Regina had killed for the two of them to see. I understand that other people have seen lost loved ones, but they were completely out of my control - they all appeared under Rumple's hand. When Rumple created this curse, he helped me without even knowing it. He threw his own intentions out of the window at exactly the same time." The Blue Fairy paused, passing her wand from hand to hand. "Tell me, Hans: where is Emma?"

He sighed dramatically through his grim looking smile and waved his hand over the glass of the small compact mirror that lay open on Blue's desk. The reflection rippled like water as the image distorted to reveal the dark basement at the Children's Home. As the image began to focus, Emma's hanging, limp body soon became clear to see.

Blue gasped in horror.

"Hans, she is practically dead!" She raged, gripping onto the mirror. "What on earth did you do to her?"

"We simply played a little game of persuasion, Mother Superior. I merely showed her what she would be missing if she chose Regina. By the end of today, her heart will belong to Neal Cassidy once again."

The Blue Fairy sighed, looking completely torn. Hans had done exactly what she had implied, minus the fact that he had almost killed the Saviour, yet she couldn't help but feel almost annoyed at him for being so stupid about it. If he had done to Regina what he had done to Emma, then maybe she would have been thrilled at his initiative. But he hadn't.

"When they find Emma, and they will, the first person they will be chasing is _you_." She warned him, though the mirth in his eyes showed neither regret nor fear. The look in his eyes showed him practically heartless. "We have to find a way to get this off your conscience and Regina off your tail."

' _Bingo_ ,' he thought. He hadn't even needed to attempt to pursue her to get him out of this mess.

"We could always place the blame on Killian Jones," he suggested, "he's been in love with Emma from the moment he got here on that stupid boat. He's constantly drunk these days so he has no argument."

"No. We are not blaming anyone else for this, Hans. We simply need them to believe that you don't know anything about it. Can you do that?"

"Oh, mother Superior. Your faith in me is astounding." He snarled, completely ignoring the fact that the mirror in Blue's hand now showed Regina Mills cradling Emma on the blood soaked floor of the basement.

"It's not that I don't have every ounce of faith in you, my dear; I merely believe that you're going to have a rather tough run-in with the Evil Queen when the time comes."

*#*#*#*

* _Present day_ *

When Emma woke for the second time, she found herself to be completely alone. The space behind her - where Regina had squeezed herself - was just as empty as the visitor's chair beside her bed. The only sign of any visitors was Regina's bloodied jacket that had been draped across the high back of the teal chair. The door was closed and the blinds were drawn, leaving her with only the small amount sunlight that seeped through the slits in the blinds. She hadn't a clue of how long she had been out, but she assumed it was probably the next day and Regina had taken their son home so the two could finally get a good night sleep.

She almost wanted to be selfish and wish that they had sat with her for the entire time she was out.

Being alone in a hospital bed was never something Emma thought she would go through again. But here she was - alone and being used as a giant pin cushion. Every horrible thought about her last time in this position dawned on her; the handcuffs, the constant pain that coursed through her body, the ignorance of the hospital staff and worst of all: the emptiness of the room. She wanted to cry - she really did, but the sight of Regina's jacket gave her the smallest glimmer of hope that the woman would return, even if her optimism was currently on the down-low.

She closed her eyes tightly for a second, suddenly feeling the overwhelming strength of the drugs that Regina had insisted one of the nurses get for her. Her mind had gone fuzzy while her entire body felt like she had been trapped in a huge bowl of Jell-O. Everything felt wobbly. She was almost tempted to stand, just to experience what the drugs would feel like as she walked. But she didn't. Instead, she allowed her head to loll onto her shoulders for a few seconds before abruptly stopping herself, only to repeat the movement moments later with a small giggle.

Her light headed distraction didn't last very long. The instant she felt the snagging of the polythene sheets against her skin, she erupted into fits of laughter, completely forgetting about how spaced-out her head was beginning to feel.

"It's like a cloud," she began giggling to herself again, falling completely oblivious to the recent addition to her room. "I'm being cuddled by clouds."

A snort, followed by a deep, melodic chuckle made Emma's head snap up towards the doorway. She gasped in awe the moment she spotted the brunette in the doorway.

"Ah, it's my girlfriend!" The blonde practically squealed, making Regina blush furiously at the use of the endearment. "You are _soooo_ pretty, Gina."

Regina fixed her with an empty glare, refusing to take the compliment from such a dazed version of her love. She remained silent as she closed the door to Emma's room behind her, keeping her brown eyes fixed on clouded green ones.

"Nooo, baby, don't be mad," Emma cooed, putting her arms out towards the brunette with adorable grabby hands. "Can I have a kiss?"

Emma pouted her lips.

"Emma Swan, even on drugs you have managed to make me love you even more." She crossed the room from the doorway and climbed back onto the hospital bed, pulling the drug induced woman into her arms with the biggest smile that had ever graced her lips. She kissed the blonde's forehead and buried her face into a heap of blonde curls that she had managed to clean with the tiny amount of magic she could still access. "You are such an idiot."

"But I thought I was _your_ idiot," She all but whined.

"You _are_ my idiot,"

"Good," Emma shrugged her shoulders with a grin and buried her face into Regina's neck. "I missed you. Where did you go?"

Emma's voice was practically childlike, so much that it almost made Regina 'awh' at the sound. Instead, she bit her lip to hide her smile and traced patterns with her finger down Emma's arm. It should have been uncomfortable - that much intimacy, but after what Emma had gone through Regina sought comfort in the idea, knowing that Emma would probably feel the same way if she was actually aware of what was happening. Even the domesticity of the scene was reassuring to the woman that had spent such a huge majority of her life alone and secluded from any form of physical contact with another human being.

"You were fast asleep when I left you an hour ago, Miss Swan. You needn't have missed me, dear." Regina gave her a pointed look in order to stop herself from laughing at Emma's drug-induced puppy-dog eyes and small pout that matched the one Henry would sport when he was a toddler down to a tee. "I went to check on our son, Charlotte and Amira. Your parents are watching the three of them until the five are granted permission to see you."

Emma groaned.

"Not my mom, 'Gina. She doesn't want me to date you but I do, and she can't tell me what to do because I am an adult." She folded her arms across her chest with a huff and a pathetic little frown that actually made Regina laugh aloud this time.

"Well, darling, why don't you tell her that yourself when she gets here to see you?"

"'Cos I'm not gonna talk to her, remember?" Her condescending tone made Regina kinda wish that Emma had added a 'duh' to the end of her rhetorical question. "She can keep her singing birds and woodland creatures all to herself because you make me happy and she doesn't care, 'Gina."

Regina's breath caught violently in the back of her throat. No one in her entire life had ever told her that she made them happy. Not even Daniel. Even if Emma was completely dazed and probably wouldn't remember anything she had said, Regina reveled in the feeling that she was truly wanted by the Saviour, whether Snow White liked it or not. The way Emma's voice hitched as she told her so proved to Regina how much she actually meant to the other woman. It was almost too much. Shouldn't they be having this conversation when Emma was back to her normal self?

"I think you're going to make me happy, too." She mused. "And your mother does care about you, Emma, more than you know. That's why she did what she did - to make sure you aren't making a huge mistake. She loves you so much and there has been so much bad blood between us that she didn't want to lose you to our feud again. That wouldn't be fair to either of you. Your mother just wants the best for you - just like she always has."

Emma hummed in acknowledgement and squeezed Regina a little tighter around her waist. She remained silent but the sloppy, open-mouthed kisses she placed on Regina's neck were enough of a reply for Regina - even if she was covered in saliva from her clavicle to the curve in her jaw bone. A rich laugh erupted from low in Regina's throat when Emma tried to slide her tongue across her jaw, which turned out to be Emma practically licking her face as if she were an ice-cream cone.

"Get off of me, you idiot," Regina managed to say through her laughter. She pushed the blonde's face away from her neck so she could cup her chin to catch her gaze. "I will not allow you to use my face as a physical replacement for ice-cream, Miss Swan."

"But I can use somewhere else though, right?" Emma tried to suggestively raise her eyebrows, but all that she seemed capable of doing was looking incredibly shocked while frowning.

Regina bit her lip and playfully pinched the blonde's side, making her squeal.

She wanted to be irritated by Emma's childish, drugged-up behaviour, yet she couldn't. The longer she witnessed a very unguarded and insanely ridiculous saviour, the more she found herself falling for the other woman. It was ridiculous. Emma Swan was a breath of fresh air. Everything in her life had needed to be prim and proper - even when she in control of her own life.

Sometimes it seemed as though Emma was the polar opposite to herself in every way, when other times there was no visible dividing line between either of them. Just thinking about how completely different yet insanely alike they were made Regina suddenly feel dizzy. It was ironic really.

"You're, like, a really good kisser," Emma muttered, making herself blush furiously and completely forget about her previous crude suggestion. "Can I have another one?"

"Ma, you're awake!"

Before Regina could respond or even attempt to stop Emma's waiting lips, Henry came bounding over to the hospital bed.

"Henry, dear," Regina said as she attempted to extract herself from Emma's clingy arms so she could stand in front of their son. "Emma has been given some seriously strong medication, so it's made her a little… crazy. She doesn't really know what's going on, sweetheart."

"I know everything that's going on, thank you very much!" Emma tried to sit up, but every time her sheets rustled against her skin she would erupt into an infectious laughter. When she finally gave up on trying to move, she decided to attempt to speak again. "Your mom is what's going on, Hen'. She's smoking hot."

"Emma!"

"Ma!" Henry actually grimaced. That was one thing that he really didn't want to have to think about, and now he was mentally scarred whether he liked it or not. Regina's cheeks were practically on fire with embarrassment, so much in fact, that she could barely look her son in the eye.

"Sorry, kid, but you're gonna have to get used to that one." Henry stared blankly at his blonde mother, silently asking her to evaluate. "She's my girlfriend now, so she needs to know I think she's hot."

"Wait, is that why you guys were kissing in the kitchen and sleeping on the couch together?"

Henry stepped around his rather stunned and more than slightly embarrassed brunette mother to stand at Emma's bedside, ready to hear anything she was willing to spill.

"Your Ma's got game, kid." Emma gave her son a tired smile but refused to spill anymore gossip about herself and her True Love. Instead, she reached over and took Regina's hand in her own and laced their fingers together, receiving a gratuitous tight squeeze. "I think these drugs are wearing off. I'm all achy, 'Gina."

A rich chuckle flowed from Regina's lips. "No, dear, I think they're still in full effect."

From just the pained expression on Emma's face, Regina knew that the pain relief in the drugs were easing off, but the fuzzy effect it had on Emma's mind was definitely not budging any time soon.

Deciding that she didn't really want to call a nurse in to interrupt their small family moment, she pressed her index and middle fingers to Emma's temple and allowed a wave of energy to pass through her fingers and travel directly into the woman's blood stream. When the magic stopped and Emma's head lolled numbly to the side, Regina's legs gave way, causing her to collapse onto the tiled floor with a heavy thump.

"Mom!" Henry yelled, diving towards his mother as quickly as he could. "Are you okay? What happened?"

He wrapped his arms around her waist and slowly began pulling her almost dead weight to her feet.

"Magic overload," she gasped, struggling for air. "Put me-" gasp, "on Emma's-" gasp, "bed."

Henry immediately did as he was told. He managed to lift Regina onto the bed and tuck her under the sheets beside his birth mother as quickly as he could, understanding that any effort on her behalf would make her situation critical.

"Thank you, Henry," Regina whispered after she finally regained her breath. The severe loss of magic was like a punch to the gut. She looked over to the drowsy woman beside her and weakly smiled at the the stupid faces she pulled as a short series of hallucinations seeped into her mind.

"Are you both gonna be okay, mom?" He timidly asked, sounding much younger than his years.

"Yes, sweetheart. We're all going to be okay."

*#*#*#*

Snow and Charming were asked to wait outside with Charlotte and Amira for ten minutes before seeing their daughter - just to allow their grandson a few moments alone with his mother. And Regina. Gods, Snow hated her so much more in that moment. She couldn't even sit with her daughter while she lay in a hospital bed, but Regina could - simply because she was the mayor. Snow inwardly rolled her eyes at the idiocy of the decisions made in the damn hospital.

"Snow, Charming; you can go in now," said one of the nurses standing outside of Emma's room.

The couple nodded their thanks and rushed into the room with Charlotte following closely behind, cradling a finally sleeping Amira in her arms. The four piled into the room to find Regina lying next to Emma in the bed with her arm wrapped around their daughter's shoulders, while Henry sat at the bottom of the bed with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.

Snow halted at the sight of her daughter in Regina's arms – both sporting tired smiles as they looked between each other and their son.

"Emma, thank goodness you're okay," Snow cooed, quickly rounding the bed to be at Emma's side. "We were so worried. We thought we were going to lose you again. Your father and I refuse to let that happen one more time."

As Snow reached over to place a gentle hand on Emma's cheek, her blonde daughter swiftly moved her head, effectively burying her face in Regina's neck.

"Leave me alone," she growled; her voice laced with unshed tears and the drowsiness of the drugs.

"Emma, honey, what's wrong?"

"You don't want me to love my 'Gina 'cos she's my happy ending and she tried to ruin yours!"

Emma sobbed into Regina's neck, who was trying her damned hardest to heave herself into a position where she could comfortably envelope the blonde in her arms and soothe her the only way she knew how; with whispered sweet nothing's and gentle kisses. Snow's face darkened at the sight.

"What the hell are you doing in my daughter's hospital bed, anyway?" Civil behaviour be damned.

"My mom gave Ma magic to stop her from hurting because the drugs were wearing off!" Henry managed to quickly shout out before his brunette mother could get herself into trouble for her snarky attitude towards his grandmother. "Mom collapsed because she used too much magic to find and save Ma. She was exhausted, so I put her in the bed with Ma."

Charming nodded and ruffled his grandson's hair. "Good thinking, kiddo," He turned to face Regina, who was trying to coax Emma away from her neck. "Thank you, Regina, for everything you've done. We never would have found her if it weren't for you."

"Are you serious?!" Snow screeched, making Emma jerk from her hiding spot in the crook of Regina's neck and waking Amira rather abruptly. The child wailed in Charlotte's arms and Regina quickly offered to take the child with her free arm. Charlotte was more than happy to hand the toddler over to someone else, but more than anything, she was glad to see Regina's maternal side instantly kick in. She knew Amira had taken quite a shine to the mayor.

Regina was almost glad that Amira had started to cry, simply because she knew that she probably would have lost her temper with the insulant Snow White had she not had the child placed in her arms. Ignoring the shouting and yelling around her, Regina gently moved Amira into the nonexistent space between herself and Emma. The blonde responded immediately and cradled the child into her chest as she made babbling noises while Regina pulled the two closer.

"Look at what's she's doing, Charming! She's trying to take our daughter away from us again! This is her plan; this has always been her plan."

"This time, Snow, I don't think she's doing anything. Look," Charming nodded his head towards his daughter, Regina and the now giggling child between them. He watched as a morphine riddled version of his daughter tickled a child into fits of laughter while making a usually stubborn Evil Queen grin with a fondness he had never seen before. It was beyond something he had ever expected to see. "Right now, I only see the woman of your stories. A selfless woman. A woman in love. A woman that is definitely not trying to take anything away from anyone unintentionally."

Snow watched in silence as Charlotte joined the two women, their son and Amira on the end of the bed as they played with both the child and Emma, the latter of whom began muttering out hilarious side comments about the hallucinations she still seemed to be having. Regina laughed the hardest when Emma mentioned something about dancing, tutu-wearing ogres in the corner of the room, more so when the blonde mentioned that they looked pretty in pink.

An unconscious smile graced her lips as she watched the five interact like the loving family she had always dreamed of having. Her eyes became glued to Regina as she saw the woman smile more than she had done since they were both in their youths. She witnessed the loving, caring, affectionate side of a woman she believed had died over three decades ago as she checked Emma's temperature with the back of her hand and pain levels simply by looking into her eyes.

In that moment, Snow saw it. She saw how Regina really hadn't changed all that much from the young girl she had been when they first met. She never lost her ability to love or care for someone who really needed it. Regina Mills was the same woman she had been so very long ago.

Charming's gaze flittered from his wife to the five laughing people on the single hospital bed with a pleasant smile. Just by looking at Snow's conflicting emotions that crossed her face, he knew that she was coming to the same realisation she should have when she first learned that Emma and Regina were True Loves.

They were meant to be together.


	18. I'm A Badass

**CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - I'm A Badass**

When Snow finally broke out of her daze, her smile faded and her eyes clouded with tears that stung before eventually falling. To everyone aside from Regina, her tears went unseen as she rushed out of the room without a word. She raced down the hall, ignoring the door slamming behind her and skidded into the waiting room to collapse onto one of the cushioned chairs in fits of tears. She wanted to be angry. She wanted to hate Regina for being entwined with her daughter by fate. But she couldn't. Every single time she thought she could blame Regina for all of this, an image of the older woman smiling at her daughter like she was the most wonderful person in the world made her stomach flip.

Her daughter was being handed her happy ending with a huge family and Snow hated herself for feeling so disappointed about it. From the moment Charming held his mother's necklace over her hand to predict the sex of their first born, she had begun imagining the life her daughter would have. She imagined her walking down the aisle to meet her very own Prince Charming at the altar. She imagined seeing her daughter prancing around the nursery in her very first ball gown. She imagined the family they would bring into the world and eventually rule over the White Kingdom as King and Queen.

This was never how it was supposed to be.

Of course, she knew that Emma and Regina already had a son that they both cherished. They already had a love that couldn't be broken. Regina was the mayor and Emma was the Sheriff - that's like being Storybrooke's royalty, right? She still had the opportunity to see Emma in her first ball gown and she still had the chance to witness her daughter walking down the aisle to meet her True Love, even if that was a former Queen instead of a Prince. She still had all of those opportunities if Emma fully chose Regina. The only thing she had missed out on was Emma's youth, and that was something she could still hold over Regina.

She let out an exasperated sigh, of which was received by a gentle hand on her shoulder. She glanced over, expecting to see Charming's thick hand over her shoulder blade, but instead she saw something she really hadn't expected. The perfectly manicured hand on her shoulder gave a tight squeeze.

"I understand why you're mad, Snow, I really do," Regina said as she hoisted herself out of the hospital issued wheelchair and sat beside the weeping woman. "If our roles were reversed, I would be upset too. But the thing is, Emma doesn't see that. She doesn't know how long and how hard we fought each other. All she sees is the woman who told her that she would 'love her unconditionally' shunning her for finding out her True Love was _me_."

Regina took a breath and looked out onto the empty emergency room waiting area, leaving a small silence for any of Snow's commentary. When nothing filled the silence, Regina began again.

"She has never had to have someone's approval on a relationship, so having yours means so much to her, Snow. She is your _daughter_ and she trusted you. She trusted you to love her and be happy for her. It took her so long for her to trust and love you like a daughter should love her mother and now you're just throwing it back in her face like everyone else in her life has done. You have made her believe that you're no better than the rest and if you don't realise that, dear, then you're going to lose her and it's going to be all your fault. Not _mine_ , not Rumple's, not Blue's, but _yours_."

Snow's head dropped solemnly at Regina's words, hating the truth that they screamed. Regina was right and she knew it.

"I want to be happy for you both, Regina! I love Emma so much, but when I think about her loving you more than me, it makes my stomach turn. I saw what you did to people back in our land. I saw you rip people's hearts out. I even saw you rip out my own! How can I not instantly think the worst and expect that you're using Emma to keep Henry all to yourself?!"

Regina's sharp sigh jolted Snow in her trail of thought. It was a ridiculous thing to say and she knew it. She knew that Henry lived with Regina for the majority of the time and that Emma took him every other weekend. It was a pathetic excuse.

"You're her soul mate as well, aren't you?" Snow whispered after a short silence. "When Emma was conceived, Blue told us about the consequences of the love life for a child born of True Love. I know that your love is only true because you both love each other equally and unconditionally, but the side effects of True Love? You shouldn't have them because…"

"Because only soulmates with True Love experience the side effects," Regina finished for her, fully understanding what Snow was hinting at. "Yes, Emma and I are soul mates, too. When Daniel died I read up on True Love; soul mates; destiny; and how to change it all. When she first came here, I constantly felt a pull towards her. It was like I knew we were meant to be from the very beginning. I know what Emma is to me, but she doesn't. Emma only knows of our self-grown True Love. I can't tell her about us being soul mates as well. Not yet, anyway."

"Why not? Because you think she will run and your love will shatter?"

"No." Regina snapped. "I didn't want to tell her just yet because she wants all of this to happen naturally. She wants all of this to happen by our own will, we both want to do this right. This is our second chances and we have to do this right. I love your daughter, _gods_ , I love her so much. I want her in my life, I want to spend the rest of my life with her because I love her, and I want a family with her, Snow, but I don't want her to rush into this. I don't want her to wake up one morning with cold feet and run halfway across the country before I even wake up. I want her to feel as comfortable in this relationship as I want to be. But I'm just as terrified as she is."

Snow sighed and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees and holding her face in her hands. She didn't know what to say. There wasn't anything she _could_ say. She wanted her daughter to be happy and she knew Regina wanted the same, yet there was still that dreaded feeling in the pit of her gut that screamed this was all wrong.

"I see the way you look at her, Regina," her voice was muffled by her hands, but Regina hung on to every word, hoping that they would finally have a breakthrough in the start of Snow's journey to acceptance. "You look at her the way you looked at Daniel that night I saw you both in the stables. You look at my daughter as if she is the only person in the entire world. And I have seen the way she looks at you, too. Just from the gentlest look in her eyes I know that she sees her future with you. When she looks at you she sees happiness and love and safety. You are her safety net, Regina."

That was all it took for Regina to allow her tears to fall. Like Snow, she slumped forward and wrapped her hands around her head. ' _Love is far too much of a responsibility,_ ' Regina laughed to herself.

They sat in a comfortable silence for a short while, sniffing and allowing small sobs to vibrate in the back of their throats. In that silence, Regina realised how much she actually understood Snow. She understood the disappointment she must have felt when she learnt about her daughter's True Love, she understood how she couldn't accept it and she understood more than anyone else why Snow wanted Emma to love and marry Neal. She wanted her daughter to be with her first love for the rest of her life. She wanted her daughter to be with the father of her son.

But now, if Daniel really could return, Regina wasn't even sure if she would choose him anymore. Of course, she could tell herself that she would love him for an eternity, but if it came to and he could be resurrected to give her a happy ending, something in her heart told her that saying yes would be a terrible decision. She couldn't even picture herself living happily with anyone other than Emma. Not anymore, anyway. She couldn't even stop thinking about Emma when he _did_ return with the curse.

"Madam Mayor, Snow," a voice coaxed them out of their thoughtful hazes, welcoming their blank faces with a friendly, comforting smile. "Dr. Whale is about to give the Sheriff a checkup to deem whether she is fit to be discharged today with some meds and pain relief or whether she should be kept overnight for some supervision on her condition." Regina nodded her thanks and began to stand. "Oh, he wants to check your vitals too, Mayor Mills, and he suggests you use the wheelchair again."

With a grumble and a little help from the nurse, Regina managed to transfer herself onto the wheelchair. Had she not collapsed and still had the slightest bit of energy remaining, she probably would have caused some sort of riot about her needing to keep her dignity in tact without anyone's help. Trying her damned hardest, Regina sat tall in the chair and allowed the nurse to wheel her directly to Emma's room, where the blonde sat with a stupid-looking grin on her face and Amria playing in her lap.

"Gina!" Emma and Amira shouted in unison, making the brunette's strong, glaring façade melt into a sweet and loving smile.

The nurse pushed the chair over to Emma's bedside by silent request and swiftly left the room. From the very instant that the wheelchair came to a stop at Emma's side, Amira scrambled over to the edge of the bed and dropped herself into Regina's lap with a mischievous giggle that made Charlotte and Regina grin at each other.

"Apparently I'm an ice-cream _and_ a jungle gym today," she chuckled to herself.

The grin on Emma's face never faltered. In fact, it merely grew when Regina reached up and took her hand. Their fingers entwined almost naturally, identical to the way the brunette's thumb caressed the pale skin of Emma's wrist. Every intimate movement was completely unconscious and so full of love, like they had been doing said gestures for years.

"How are you feeling?" Regina asked, pretending that she wasn't aware of the five pairs of eyes glued on them.

"Tired, but your magic has stopped the pain, like, a lot," Emma watched as Regina's look of concern quickly turned into one of relief. "You really shouldn't have used all of your magic and energy on me. You could have really hurt yourself, Regina."

"Oh, so I'm back to Regina now, huh?" She teased, giving Emma's hand a gentle squeeze.

The blonde blushed and coyly ducked her head. "I'm going to blame it on the drugs this time."

"It's quite alright, dear," Regina brought Emma's hand to her lips and ghosted a kiss across her knuckles. "Am I correct in thinking that your head isn't so fuzzy anymore?"

Emma nodded and opened her mouth to reply when Dr. Whale barged into the room with two clipboards and a collection of nurses in his wake. Regina rolled her eyes at the cocky bastard and attempted to readjust Amira's position on her lap single handedly. When Charming stepped forward in an offer to take Amira, Regina wrapped a protective arm around the girl's waist as the child snuggled into her chest.

"Okay, let's do the Sheriff first," Whale said to the nurses behind him. He rounded the bed, with his stethoscope in hand and set about his work. He checked her heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation, coordination and her reflexes. He sat her up to check the healing wounds on her back before laying her back onto the bed to check the final wound on her stomach. He hummed to himself and added a few details to one of the clipboards.

Deeming Emma's check-up complete, he turned to face Regina. "The child can't be on your lap while I do this, Regina," She glared at him as she handed the child over to Emma, who held her arms out ready to embrace the small girl. Regina wasn't at all surprised when the girl happily snuggled into Emma's hold.

Repeating on Regina what he had done to Emma, Dr. Whale ended his examination with a similar hum and aggressively scribbling on the other clipboard.

"I'm keeping you both in overnight as a precaution." He began, earning an Evil Queen style glare from the brunette in the wheelchair. "You're both suffering from exhaustion and you're dehydrated. Keeping you here will allow me to connect you both to IV lines that will provide you with enough fluid to boost your immune systems. The two of you will also be bed bound until 8am tomorrow morning, when I will repeat the physical examination and provide you both with your discharge papers."

Regina grumbled slightly, prompting Emma's to take her hand once more with a delicate squeeze. The scowl on Regina's face began to ease until she was staring at the doctor with the most neutral look on her face that Emma had ever seen. Who would have thought: the daughter of Snow White would be the Evil Queen's neutraliser?

"So, will one of the nurses bring Regina's bed in here soon?" Emma questioned with a hopeful look in her eye.

"Actually, we will be providing a separate room for Mayor Mills, Sheriff,"

Regina raised an eyebrow, looking completely ready to shred the doctor apart with her bare hands - with or without her energy. "Are you actually suggesting that you leave Miss Swan alone in her room all night with the door unlocked, while all of your nurses sit around drinking coffee until their shifts are over, being completely oblivious over whoever enters and leaves this hospital wing?"

Regina's voice was sharp and intimidating. She had made several of the nurses behind Whale quiver and slowly shuffle out of the door. Whale, on the other hand, crossed his arms over his chest and smirked down at her.

"My intentions were to keep you both in separate rooms in order for you both to receive some adequate rest before your discharges tomorrow." He told her, enjoying his little glimmer of power more and more. "We have around the clock security on all of the rooms in this wing, so Emma's safety shouldn't be something you need to be concerned about, _Madam Mayor._ "

"If I am to be given my own cot, then I suggest you instruct one of your little minions to move it in here. If you don't, you will find that I shall be at Miss Swan's bedside when you decide to grace us with your presence tomorrow morning." With a challenging smirk, Regina dismissed the doctor immediately and turned towards Emma as he left the room with an irritated frown on his face.

"Huh, anyone would think you had a crush on me, Madam Mayor," Emma teased with a wink, earning herself a playful slap on the arm from the brunette.

"And anyone else would think you had a serious death wish, my dear,"

*#*#*#*

It wasn't much later that a pair of nurses wheeled an extra bed into the room for Regina, maneuvering it so close to Emma's that there was barely room to walk between the beds. They helped her out of the chair and hoisted her onto the bed, much to Regina's dismay. They tucked her into the sheets, propped pillows behind her head and made sure she was comfortable. She was then quickly attached to an IV line and her finger was clasped in a plastic clip that measured her heart rate on the monitor joined to the bed.

When the nurses finally left, Snow took it upon herself to sit at Emma's bedside for the first time all day. She had been tempted to reach out and place her hand on Emma's leg as she played with the child in her lap. Snow had even wanted to ask how Emma knew who the child was, but the more she watched them interact, the less she wanted to disturb them. ' _It's probably an orphan thing,_ ' she thought to herself and instantly chastised herself for the idea.

The effortless smiles and the giggles that came from Emma were the most comforting things she had ever been in the presence of. From the very moment Emma stepped into Storybrooke, Snow had known her to be a quiet and unhappy person with a history that would make anyone squeamish. She knew more than most that Emma's childhood and teenage years were traumatic, and there really was no one to blame but herself.

Across the other side of the almost-joined beds, Snow caught a glimpse of Charlotte and Henry as they joked and teased each other, doing so only for Regina's amusement. What she hadn't noticed, however, was the fact that her daughter had reached across the small space between the two beds and took hold of Regina's hand in a loose embrace. Their hands dangled between the beds, but neither complained of their positions being too uncomfortable; they were more concerned about keeping the other close at all times than being comfortable.

After Emma's horrendous series of hallucinations and forced visions, the last thing she wanted was for Regina to suddenly go missing or witness any harm being done to her. The thought made her stomach turn, yet she couldn't stop herself from being overcautious and a slight hypochondriac. She held onto Regina's hand just a little tighter, even though she knew the other woman wasn't going anywhere just yet.

As a reel of thoughts so obviously streamed through Emma's mind, Regina instantly caught on and decided that it was now or never to try out their soul mate's connection of telepathy. If their connection didn't work at that very moment, she knew she wouldn't dwell on it just yet. She had already planned that she would hold off until Emma was fully recovered to try it. And if, after all of that, it hadn't returned, she knew a trip to Rumplestiltskin was in order. But now seemed like a rather perfect opportunity for their connection to work. So she tried.

**_'You're thinking too hard,'_** the familiar voice in Emma's head echoed around her brain when she realised that she had stopped playing with Amira and the child was sitting patiently on her pelvis, watching her every movement.

**_'I'm just really tired,'_** Emma glanced over to the brunette and gave her a weak smile, which was almost identically returned with an equally tired smile.

His daughter's sudden dazed out expression and the smiles exchanged weren't overlooked by Charming. He spotted them long before anyone else, even Regina. So when he saw the two exchanged smiles, he knew it was time for them all to take their leave.

"I think it's time for us to leave," he suggested, bringing a silence over the room. "Emma and Regina really need their rest if they're going to be coming home with us tomorrow."

"So Mom is gonna be staying with us at your place until she and Ma get better?" Henry beamed at his grandfather, completely missing the unimpressed look on his adoptive mother's face.

"Yeah, kiddo. Your mothers are too stubborn to rest and look after themselves, so Dr. Whale has asked us to let Regina stay with us for the next few days - until they both get back on their feet, of course."

"Your chivalry is appreciated Charming, but it shan't be accepted." Regina snarled. "I am fully capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much. Miss Swan shall be staying at the mansion with me until she is capable of caring for herself. I would like to make sure she's well enough to take care of herself on her own before she leaves."

Snow, who had decided best to stay quiet for the beginning of the conversation, took her stand at Emma's bedside and looked between the blonde and brunette.

"Regina, you and Emma _will_ be staying in our apartment for the next few days. You need people to look after you. You both need family and support to get you through all of this."

Regina was about to cut in when she realised exactly what Snow was trying to say. Everything she was saying was simply being said for Emma's sake. The younger brunette had managed to incorporate their earlier conversation into a piece of persuasion. Regina was almost proud.

"When you're finally back to your old strength, Regina, then you can return home. Charming and I simply want to make sure the both of you are safe and healthy before you do any more stupid things together."

Emma stared at her mother completely dumbfounded. The last thing she expected to hear was her mother telling Regina that she wanted her to stay in her home, just to make sure she was safe. But here she was, hearing the very words for the first time. It was almost quite surreal. She felt Regina gently squeeze her hand during the small silence her mother had left, prompting her to say something.

"Uh, thanks, mom," she muttered, unsure what to say.

"Thank you, Snow." Regina caressed Emma's wrist with the pad of her thumb, trying her hardest to tell the other woman that she would discuss the situation later. She turned to their son, who was once again causing some sort of turmoil with Charlotte. "Henry, I need you to behave for your grandparents tonight, okay?"

He nodded, too engrossed in showing Charlotte the new comic book that Ruby must have bought him to even care about what was going on around him.

After saying their goodbyes with hugs and kisses, Regina and Emma were left alone for the first time in hours. As pleasant as it was to have Henry, Charlotte and Amira at their bedsides, both women had become incredibly exhausted rather quickly.

"So I think Henry took a shine to the girls," Emma said after getting comfortable in her bed so she could face Regina.

"As did you," Regina mused, mirroring Emma's body language. She reached her hand out towards Emma's and laced their fingers together. "I think they're both smitten by you."

"Well, what can I say? I'm a badass,"

Regina stifled a laugh and squeezed Emma's fingers. "You really need to stop being a _badass_ , my love. Simply for my own nerves." She sighed a little and averted her eyes from the blonde to look at the ceiling. "Do you think we should talk about all of this?"

"Do you want to?"

"I don't want this," she gestured between herself and Emma, "to be awkward. But I think we should talk about where this is going to go. We have a son to think about."

Emma reached across the beds and took Regina's chin between her thumb and her index finger, turning her face so she would look at her. "Since when has anything between us been awkward? We've fought, we've got in each other's faces, we've seen each other in our most vulnerable and everything has stayed the same. You know that I am in love with you, and you have told me that you're in love with me too. How can things become awkward if we talk about all of this?"

"I don't know," Emma's hand trailed to Regina's cheek and the brunette rested her own hand against the blonde's. "Having you; having a second chance just feels too good to be true."

"You deserve to find love. You deserve happiness just as much as anyone else. So if that means that I can give you that, I definitely want this. I want you. I want this family."

Tears slowly began to fill Regina's tired eyes. She laced her fingers between Emma's and held both of their hands closer to her cheek, reveling in the touch of Emma's skin against her own. When the first tear trailed down her cheek, Emma's free hand quickly caught it with the pad of her thumb.

"We _can_ do this. We can have everything, Regina." Regina tilted her head to kiss the palm of the blonde's hand. "I don't care what anyone else thinks. If my mother doesn't like this - if she doesn't like the fact that I've found my True Love in you, then I don't care. I managed to get through twenty-eight years of my life without her, I'm pretty sure I can get my happy ending without her approval too. "There are always going to be people that don't want us together, or don't agree with us being together, but that's their problems. If you and I are happy, then that's all that matters."

"Your mother does understand, Emma," she started with a squeeze of the blonde's hand. "When she left and I went to find her, she told me that she knows how much I care for you. She knows that we want this. Snow wants to try. Your mother wants to see you be happy and I think she might come around to the idea. But it will take time. It will take time and effort, and most importantly: trust."

Emma's hand dropped to Regina's neck to caress the skin below her ear, finding out that the brunette was slightly sensitive and ticklish in the area. She smirked with her new piece of information and gently dragged her nails over the skin, making Regina squirm a little and push her back.

"Why is it that we are never able to talk about anything serious?" She pushed Emma's hand away with a faux glare and immaturely folded her arms over her chest. "Emma, this is serious. Your mother wants to try and you have to understand that."

"No, what I understand is that she didn't take my word on how much I love you when she first found out. She needed proof. She needed someone else's word on this whole thing. She's supposed to be my mother and she's supposed to love and support me through all of my decisions, but does she? No, of course not. She's Snow _fucking_ White and she wants everything to be perfect - it's like she's always had some sort of master plan for my life ever since I was born. She wants me to find a _prince_ Charming just like she did. But that's not going to hap-."

"Emma, darling, stop." Regina's hands shot up and clasped Emma's cheeks, bringing the other woman to a halt as she burst into a series of hysterical tears. "I know, I know,"

Emma pulled out of Regina's grasp and buried her face into the pillow under her head, growling in frustration. She hated this. She hated all of this. The only time she had ever found happiness, her newly-found mom disapproves, her True Love is almost too afraid to delve deeper into their relationship, then she gets abducted, and now, on top of everything she's stuck in a hospital bed being forced to think about her choices from her mother's point of view. At times like this, she really wished she hadn't found her parents. Everything would have been so much easier.

"Your mother loves you so much, Emma. She wants you to be as happy as you can be, and she thought that you would find your happy ending in the Enchanted Forest with a prince and live happily ever after." Regina reached out and placed a hand on the small of Emma's back, hoping she could coax the woman into turning to face her again. "After everything that has happened between us, she's willing to try. She's just as terrified as we are, but she's trying to find a way out while we are trying to make this work. Can you imagine if Henry fell in love with one of our greatest enemies?"

"But that's not the point though, is it?!" Emma huffed and roughly turned over look at Regina, angrily wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands. "She wanted me to find my happy ending, just like her, but because my happy ending isn't what she wanted for me, she doesn't like it! I've never had to have anyone's approval, but this time I actually wanted hers. She's my mom, Regina. I've never had one, and now that I do, she doesn't like me because I'm in love with someone she disapproves of!"

The feeling of Deja-vu made Regina's stomach drop. She knew exactly what Emma was thinking and feeling in that very moment. Her own mother had never really raised her, but she still wanted her approval and acceptance over Daniel. Emma knew the tale almost as well as she did, and that terrified Regina. What if Emma thought their love would suddenly become a tragedy?

Shunning every possible consequence, she would face in the morning, Regina grabbed her IV fluids baggy, swung her legs over the bed and quickly climbed onto Emma's bed, enveloping the blonde in her arms whilst ignoring all forms of protest. She even managed to hang up her fluids bag on Emma's pole while the woman tried to thrash in her arms.

When Emma finally calmed and became comfortable in her arms, she wedged her head into Regina's neck and huffed out a sigh. Everything in her body hurt and ached, but when Regina held her - even touched her, every flicker of pain seemed to seep away. But most of all, the pain she felt for her mother began lessen and the knowledge that loving Regina was the right thing to do started to filter into her mind. What Emma felt for Regina was complete and utter infatuation.

"Eventually, your mother will come around. Snow already knows about how we feel about each other; she has seen the way we have looked at each other for such a long time, so she understands it - she only wishes that she didn't see any of it." Regina sighed and ran her fingers through Emma's hair before she continued whispering in her ear. "I think we should just give her a little time to accept all of this, okay?"

Emma nodded and sniffled into Regina's shoulder. All she wanted was to hold the brunette tighter and never let go. Regina was the only person in her life (aside from Henry, of course) that was offering her a proper family she could call her own. She wanted a future with Regina; she wanted to watch their son grow up with Regina by her side; she wanted to extend their family and live a life she had always dreamed of. Regina was offering her very own happy ending.

With Neal, she never had any stability in her life. They could never guarantee where they were going to spend the night. They could never even guarantee that they would make it through the night without the cops banging on the window of the bug with their arrest warrants. That was never a life she wanted, yet Neal had promised her the world. He promised her a life in Tallahassee; he promised her a place she could call home, and most importantly, he promised her a family.

All he had ever given her was a son, a criminal record and a bad taste in her mouth about men.

Well technically, aside from the whole 'sperm donation' thing, Neal hadn't really given her a son. Regina had given Emma a son. When she gave up Henry, she never classed herself as a mother. She thought of herself more as a holder of a precious cargo for someone else for nine months, but Regina gave in and allowed her access to the child she brought into the world. It had even been her idea that Henry called Emma 'Ma'. Neal on the other hand, never had Henry to call his own.

It was Regina that had given her a son, a family, a love and a safety net.

"Thank you," Emma whispered to fill the comfortable silence they had fallen into.

"For what, dear?"

"For giving me Henry. For finally giving me a family."

Regina's breath hitched in her throat. " _You_ gave _me_ Henry," she whispered almost timidly, choosing to ignore the fact that the Evil Queen could sound so precious. "You're giving me my second chance at everything. Emma, you started giving me my second chance when Henry came into my life, and now, on top of everything you're giving me a second chance at love. You, Emma Swan, are giving me things I never could have dreamed of having."

"I don't have anything to give you, Regina."

"All I want is you,"

Emma pulled back from the embrace slightly, so desperately feeling the need to look into Regina's eyes at that moment. She searched deeply in the other woman's eyes for any hint of a lie and found nothing but utter adoration. Regina's eyes followed her own as they flickered across her face, trying to delve even deeper than what was on the surface. Again, she found nothing but love and honesty.

"A life with you and Henry is the only life I ever want."

Emma tilted the bottom of her head towards Regina's and tapped her chin against the brunette's, almost as if she were asking permission. Regina grinned but didn't move forward to meet Emma's waiting mouth. Instead, she held the blonde's gaze and waited for thin, pink lips to meet her own. When they finally did, Regina couldn't help but smile into the kiss.

A gentle hand snaked onto Regina's hip before slowly sliding up towards her hair and gripping tightly to pull her further into the kiss. Two pairs of lips slowly, sensuously slid together in what felt like a well-rehearsed dance until Emma's tongue swiped Regina's bottom lip in a final request. This time, Regina immediately granted the woman access, allowing the blonde's tongue to slide and caress against her own.

When Emma's teeth snapped at her lip, drawing the slightest drop of blood, Regina moaned into the kiss and wrapped one of her arms around Emma's waist to find purchase in the small of her back. She pulled the blonde even closer so their entire bodies were pressing and moving together as their legs tangled together, joining them at every possible point on their bodies.

It didn't take long for the two women to lose their breaths so sharply. As Regina pulled away slowly, she latched onto Emma's bottom lip, sucking and pulling the swollen flesh before letting it go with a loud pop. Their eyes remained shut as they fought to fill their lungs with enough air for them to finally breathe. Emma leaned forward to press her forehead against Regina's and let out a content sigh.

"Besides, I don't think I could go another day without a kiss like that," Regina chuckled, letting a small puff of breath hit Emma's lips, forcing the blonde to finally open her eyes from their kiss induced haze.

"Me either," Emma smiled and dropped her head onto her pillow.

Gods, she was exhausted. If she hadn't been tired before that kiss, she most certainly was now. She was so tired in fact, that it was almost simple to ignore the growing throbbing between her thighs and the knotting in her lower abdomen. She knew it was a ridiculous idea to have instigated a kiss like that, but it was the only way to get Regina even closer to her aching body. Even the thought of moving to do something about her sexual desires for the other woman made the blonde inwardly groan and protest, so instead, she clutched Regina's waist and pulled the brunette into her side.

"Can we sleep here?" She asked as Regina's head was lowered onto her shoulder. "I want you to stay with me tonight."

"Of course, my love,"

Regina shifted slightly to make herself a little more comfortable in the embrace and lowered her head to rest on Emma's collar bone. Her arm draped around Emma's waist while one of her legs fell between Emma's and her eyes slowly fluttered shut - content with her position and human teddy bear beneath her. Emma shifted slightly, just to place a goodnight light kiss on her hairline.

It didn't take long before both women were snoring lightly in each other's arms wearing comfortable smiles over their faces.


	19. Bleeding Out

**CHAPTER NINETEEN - Bleeding Out**

Throughout most of the night, Emma and Regina lay wrapped in each other's arms, constantly seeking out the comfort the other woman offered. Their room was peaceful, silent and undisturbed by any of the nursing staff for so long that anyone would have believed they had either been completely forgotten about, or that the nurses were simply too scared to wake the former Evil Queen from her peaceful slumber just to check her vitals. The latter seemed more likely than anything else.

It was around 4am when Regina had noticed that Emma's calm and steady breathing had become ragged and uneven. She could feel the blonde's racing heartbeat beneath her cheek and instantly became worried. Pushing herself up slightly to see Emma's face, Regina immediately noticed the worried frown line on her brow and her squinting eyes through closed eyelids. If Emma's breathing and facial expressions worried her, Regina was definitely not in the right frame of mind to deal with the blonde when she began to whimper and mutter incoherent sentences.

"No! Stop it!" Emma screamed as she began thrashing on the hospital bed, jerking the entire thing. "Regina, please!"

Regina froze.

She stared at Emma as her face shrewd together even more and her body began to convulse violently. Regina wanted to do something. She wanted to reach over and shake her love out of her night terror and simply hold her. But she couldn't. She couldn't even budge. She couldn't even convince herself to breathe. Emma continued to throw her body violently on the bed, as she shook her head and swung her fists, barely missing Regina several times.

The sight of a single tear streaming down Emma's face instantly pulled the brunette out of her terrified haze.

"Emma!"

She took the blonde's shoulders in a tight grip and attempted to shake her out of the terror. When Emma barely flinched and the pained expression on her face deepened, Regina's eyes clouded over in a pool of her own tears.

In a severe moment of panic, Regina did the only thing she knew how and delved deep into her magic, reaching beyond limits that she had ever reached before. Her hands shook as she squeezed Emma's shoulders tighter. The tiniest bout of magic spurted from her fingertips, sending her backwards slightly and waking Emma in an instant.

The blonde gasped and Regina's head spun.

"I'm so," Regina gasped and gripped onto Emma's forearm, "sorry. There was nothing," she gasped again, "else I could do."

Emma remained silent as she stared directly at the wall across the room. Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as her chest rapidly heaved beneath the thin hospital gown. Her entire face had become pale and void of any emotion.

When Regina finally caught her own breath, she moved closer to Emma and cupped her cheek. As she moved Emma's face to look at her own, green eyes stayed locked, almost glued to the spot on the wall.

"Emma, darling, look at me. What happened?" When nothing came of it, she leaned over the blonde so their eyes met and gave her cheeks several light taps. "Miss Swan, if you don't look at me this very instant, so help me-"

Emma's eyes blinked several times and Regina could swear she saw recognition hit the blonde square in the face. The emptiness of her eyes were now flooded with love and relief. She smiled at Regina like she was seeing her for the first time in a long time. It was a smile she had seen only once before – she had seen it the moment Emma found her after Greg and Tamara had had their way with her. And she wasn't all too pleased to see it then either.

"Regina," her name fell breathlessly from Emma's thin, pale lips. "Oh my god, Regina, you're alive. You're okay and you're alive."

Somehow, Emma managed to tackle Regina on the bed. Her head roughly colliding with Regina's abdomen, making her a little more breathless than she already was. Regina's hands instantly went to blonde tresses, pulling the woman closer as she weeped into her stomach; choosing to ignore that fact that she had no idea what the hell was going on in Emma's mind at that moment. A lump had already grown in Regina's throat, but now she felt like she was choking.

"Of course I'm okay," she hushed, silently praying to herself that she wouldn't break down from watching Emma break in front of her. "We're okay and we're safe, I promise."

For a few moments, Emma sat calm and comfortable with her head still buried in Regina's stomach, listening to the brunette's steady heartbeat. It wasn't until Emma realised how alone they were that she panicked again. Her head flew up, startling Regina backwards and her bloodshot eyes were filled with terrified tears once more.

"Henry. Where's Henry? What have they done to him?!" Emma lunged forward again, this time she flung her body towards the side of the bed with every intention of getting out of it. "He's gone, isn't he?!"

She was sobbing again.

"Emma, stop it!" Regina barked, tugging the blonde back by her waist as hard as she could. "Henry is fine. He is perfectly safe in bed and at your parents apartment. Emma, please, you have to calm down."

When Regina pulled her back from the edge of the bed a little more, Emma practically collapsed on top of her. Neither knew exactly how they had ended up in said position, but Regina knew from the way Emma tightly wrapped her arms around her waist that she was grateful they did. Emma buried her head in Regina's neck in a futile attempt to drown out the sound of her strangled sob. The sound practically killed Regina as she pulled the blonde closer and ran her hands up and down the woman's back.

"We're all safe and we are all going to be fine." She whispered into Emma's ear. "Everything you saw was just a dream. None of it was real."

"I can't lose you and Henry," Emma managed to gasp out through a series of hiccups.

"You aren't going to lose us, Emma. We're right here, okay?" Regina felt the woman on her chest nod and squeeze her waist slightly, taking that as her queue to continue. "Tell me about your nightmare. What happened?"

"I... I can't,"

"Yes you can. Your mother once told me that if you tell someone about a nightmare you have then it won't come true, nor will it return."

"Like a human dreamcatcher?" Emma's head lifted slightly so she could look at the woman beneath her.

"Exactly like a human dreamcatcher." Regina smiled at her and raised the blonde's chin with her index finger. She ghosted the pad of her thumb across Emma's bottom lip, receiving a gentle kiss on her fingertip. "Will you tell me what happened?" Emma chewed her bottom lip in consideration, "I will be right here and you can stop whenever you need to."

Emma let out a shaky breath and dropped her head back onto Regina's chest. She looked out towards the window in their room with her back to the door, gazing out at the stars as a form of comfort. The stars of the night sky had been Emma's anchor for so many years. They had been the only constant, reoccurring thing in her life, so she sought her safe haven in them. Long ago, she had once believed that somewhere in the world her parents would be staring at the same constellations and dreaming that one day they would meet the daughter they had been separated from. Only back then, she had no idea that her parents were cursed and without any memories of her whatsoever.

This time, however, she looked to the stars as a hopeful reminder of how far she had come in her life. She had found her son and her True Love. She had found her parents and a place to call home. She looked to the stars to find a reason why she shouldn't have her happy ending with her family. The only thing was: she couldn't find one.

"That guy..." She started, unsure of how to begin, but she tried anyway and Regina's circling hand on the small of her back was encouraging enough. "The guy that took me... _magic_. He had magic. He told me that in an alternate universe... I'd… I'd kill you." She already began gasping for air, hating the words as they came tumbling out of her mouth.

Regina felt Emma clench her arms even tighter around her waist as she heaved. "It's okay," Regina hushed, dragging her nails lightly across the blonde's scalp. "Tell me what happened in the dream, Emma, not what he did or said to you; in this moment, none of that matters."

Emma sniffled before she continued, "I saw it before. He showed it to me and said that if… if I chose my happy ending with you and Henry, then he would kill you both. And he did. He killed you in front of me, Regina, and I couldn't move and you couldn't hear me and he had Henry first and…and…"

She was gasping again. From the way Emma heaved and shook, Regina recognised Emma's severe symptoms of an anxiety attack. The blonde heaved and weeped and hiccuped until her body's exhaustion drowned out the adrenaline that had been flowing through her veins only moments ago.

After a short while, the only sounds that could be heard was Emma's occasional hiccup, Regina's hushed and calming whispers, and the sound of friction from her hand rubbing Emma's back.

"He's not going to get to us, Emma. I promise." She squeezed the blonde's body a little and trailed a hand along the length of her side to eventually cup a tear soaked cheek. "Your parents' apartment is so thoroughly protected by magic that not even I can enter without being welcome. Henry is completely safe. And here? We're directly above the maternity ward, which is protected by the strongest magic I could procure from two floors above to the two floors below - no one is getting in here."

Emma nodded into Regina's hand and kissed the inside of her palm. She felt ridiculous for feeling so pathetically vulnerable. All she really needed was to have Henry wedged in the bed with them and her parents somewhere close by and safe, even if she wasn't entirely on the best of terms with her mother - she still wanted her safe. She wanted the rest of her family. She _needed_ the rest of her family.

"Why don't you try to get some more sleep, dear?"

It was obvious that Emma didn't want to face the thought of sleep again, but she knew she needed the rest. Her reactions to her nightmare had been fuelled from nothing more than an adrenaline rush, so now that she had calmed and relaxed into Regina's arms, the exhaustion quickly took over once again.

*#*#*#*

When she roused again, several hours later, Regina woke to the sound of Dr. Whale clearing his throat and tapping his pen on the plastic guard around the mattress. Emma was still asleep against her chest when she tried lifting her head off of the pillow. She even risked a glance at the unimpressed doctor at her bedside, who looked as though he was contemplating chastising the Evil Queen for not doing as she was told. The look on his face was something that Regina would have craved to see on a daily basis once again, but then the thought of Emma and Henry seeped into her mind, unconsciously reminding her that she wasn't that person anymore. She didn't need to make people afraid of her.

"Good morning, Dr. Whale," her politician's smile was almost as fearful as her sly and sadistic Evil Queen smile, however, now was not the time for getting herself in trouble and she knew that. She needed to make sure they were both discharged together for not only her own sanity, but for Emma's too.

"Madam Mayor," he gave a curt nod with raised eyebrows as he silently challenged her reasoning for the Sheriff being asleep on her chest. "I'm almost certain that I told you both that you were to stay in your own beds for the night."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Regina smirked and shifted slightly as to not wake the slumbering blonde on top of her. Her voice was the closest thing to a hiss that she could get. "Well, as I so kindly pointed out for you yesterday, your nursing staff in this hospital are inadequate, incompetent idiots. Miss Swan's heart monitor almost tripled at a particular point in the night - something of which I know your staff knew about - yet no one so much as peeped through the door to make sure she was okay. So, from my point of view, any disciplinary actions should be taken out on the nurses in this hospital before they actually cost someone their lives, rather than having them taken out on myself for actually taking care of a _patient_ in this hospital."

"Regina, you were under strict instructions to say in your own bed, get some rest and allow the IV's to rehydrate you both. For all we know, you may not have improved at all throughout the night."

A low grumble from above her made Regina's concerned eyes shoot straight to the blonde head beneath her chin. "Shu'rrup, Whale."

Regina had to hold back a chuckle and begin to attempt to control the hugely proud grin that was plastered on her face. After their Neverland adventures, Regina knew that Emma really wasn't a pleasant morning person - much like herself. However, Regina was surprisingly grateful for her newly found discovery of Emma Swan being a morning flirt to her and only her.

Emma hadn't even opened her eyes when she leaned up to Regina's jaw to place a kiss on the curve. "G'morning."

"Good morning, dear." Regina squeezed her slightly and smiled, ignoring the doctor's presence completely until Emma's head budged on her chest to look at the man at their bedside.

"Lemme guess: my parents are here but we can't leave because we're in bed together."

"No, actually," Whale tapped on his clipboard with his pen, flipped a couple of pages and wrote something down. "I'm going to check your vitals and make sure that you're both healthy enough to leave, okay? Snow and Charming will be here soon."

After several pokes and prods to both women, Dr. Whale stood at the end of the shared hospital bed and hummed. Regina scowled at the doctor as he shook his head and scribbled things on their progress charts. He occasionally glanced up at Emma and Regina as if he were looking for another reason to keep them at the hospital for one more day. When he spotted Emma reach up to push out the frown crease in Regina's forehead with her thumb, he stuffed the clipboard under his arm.

"Usually, I would keep you here another night," he started.

"We're not staying another night." Emma folded her arms over her chest as she fought the urge to pout at the doctor.

"If you had waited for me to finish, Sheriff, then you would have heard that I don't intend to keep you here for another night." Regina let out a sigh of relief and allowed her head to fall back onto the pillow. "But you're going to need another bag of fluids over the next twenty-four hours, so you're still going to be attached to your IV's. Snow was a volunteer nurse, so she will remove the IV's from your arms tomorrow morning, after your full dosages have been given.

"I want the both of you to get as much rest as you can. Just try to stay in bed for today at least, okay? Emma, thanks to Gold's magic, you seem to be recovering nicely, but you're going to be out of action for quite some time, and Regina, you're still a little worse for wear, so the rest is practically mandatory for you too."

"I am _fine,"_ Regina dictated. The frown lines on her forehead were back and Emma could tell the other woman was pretty pissed about being told what to do for the second day in a row. "And I am well rested, thank you very much. Now sign our discharge papers and acquire Miss Swan a wheelchair, if you will."

Whale rolled his eyes with a nod and left the room, not wanting to tell Regina that he knew she had used magic at some point throughout the night.

When he was completely out of sight, Emma slid her arm beneath Regina's back, wrapping it around the brunette's waist and pulled her closer. Regina didn't protest, she simply allowed Emma to hold her. She was exhausted, yes, but thinking that she was too weak to even hold her own simply made her more frustrated than being without her magic. And somehow, Emma knew just that.

Emma was still weak - that much was obvious from the way her hand lay limp on Regina's hip - and the brunette couldn't help but feel the need to put the woman ahead of herself. After all, Emma's capturing had been entirely her fault. She hadn't needed to drink so much. She should have insisted that Emma took the guest room for the night. And maybe even before all of that, she should have refused to allow Emma into her home, just for the blonde's sake.

Even after the post-curse problems had disappeared, Regina still disliked walking around town on her own - just in case. It was stupid for her to have even allowed Emma to leave her bedroom that night, let alone allow her to walk halfway across town on her own in the middle of the night.

Regina's entire body had gone stiff in Emma's arms as self-loathing thoughts drowned her mind once again. Her face had become empty of any emotion, yet Emma still managed to catch a glimpse of the disappointment that flooded the brunette's dark eyes.

"Stop thinking," Emma hushed into her ear. "You're not _fine_ , Regina. Your magic had been drained from your body - I know what that feels like, it's exhausting, so you really need to accept that you're just as exhausted as I am and relax so your magic can come back to you."

Regina twisted her body in Emma's arms, allowing her to look up to the other woman. "No, Emma. That's not the point. I don't care about my magic anymore. It saved you, yes, but it also put you in this position! You could have been killed because of me! You're the person that needs to be resting and taken care of."

"Your magic didn't cause any of this, Regina." Emma's voice remained calm, even as Regina's had become frantic. She brushed stray strands of hair from Regina's face and smiled at the once formidable Evil Queen. "The only person at fault here is the idiot that took me. I should be able to walk around town in the middle of the night without being captured, hung up in a basement and tortured by fucking magic! You can't keep blaming yourself for this because I don't blame you. Henry doesn't blame you. My parents _aren't_ going to blame you."

"Your mother already does blame me! She's always going to blame me because for once in her godforsaken life, she's actually right. It _was_ my fault." Regina was babbling and fighting as hard as she could to force herself not to cry again. Gods, she hated how Emma always seemed to rip her guard down with a full force. "I should have made you stay at the mansion with me. You shouldn't have been so _charmingly_ stubborn and you should have stayed in my room. And you know that there are three guest rooms in that house. What difference would it have made if you had stayed in my bed, the couch or in a guest bed? I think the whole _waiting to sleep in the same bed together_ thing is completely out of the window by now anyway!"

Emma sighed. She knew Regina was right. She should have stayed at the mansion. She had intended on staying there anyway, but for some stupid reason, she left. She had left and instantly caused a stir in what would have been a long journey to a stable relationship. And now, what did they have? A relationship based on nothing but the idea of True Love. _Oh_ , and that was the most _stable thing ever_ , right?

Regina needed roots. Regina needed stability and she needed to know that Emma was in this for the long run. But Emma was different. Emma was used to being able to pick up her box of belongings and run for the hills. Emma had only ever had a taste of stability in Storybrooke, and that still wasn't something she was used to. Emma Swan had commitment issues and Regina Mills could hold a grudge to her deathbed.

They were the complete polar opposites in so many different ways.

"Look, Regina, Snow isn't going to blame you for anything when we find this asshole and prove that you were sleeping off two bottles of wine, okay? And if she still doesn't believe you, then she's an idiot because I spent god knows how long in a fucking basement with some creepy guy, not _you_." The blonde huffed. "And besides, it was _my_ fault for leaving, so you need to stop thinking that it was yours."

The dark eyes that bore into Emma's had began to cloud over with another round of tears that couldn't be swallowed. Regina tried to palm the wetness out of her eyes before Emma could even spot her weakness, but she was too late. Pale hands cupped her cheeks once more and thumbs wiped away the tears that had already pooled beneath her eyes. For the first time, Regina was actually grateful that someone could see past her mile high and mile wide walls. Even more grateful that said someone was Emma.

*#*#*#*

Twenty peaceful minutes later, Snow and Charming arrived at their room with _two_ wheelchairs and two sets of clean clothing. Like Emma, Regina was handed a pair of the blonde's grey sweatpants and an oversized state university t-shirt that Regina knew for sure _hadn't_ belonged to Emma at any point for _university pride_. It had taken the three Charmings a little while to convince Regina to get changed into the baggy set of clothing, but once she was dressed and in a wheelchair pushed by Charming himself, the four were quickly out of the hospital and into the back of Snow's oversized Prius.

Not that Regina didn't want to be out of the hospital - she did, but she had expected to be given time alone with Emma to properly talk to her about what had happened over the last few days. She needed to know everything before she went off after the moron that attempted to take her True Love away from her. Then there was also the fact that she just wanted to spend some waking hours with the other woman without being watched like a hawk by the two idiots. But if spending time with Emma and Henry meant being supervised by Snow White until she _'recovered'_ , then so be it.

The two held each other's hands for the entire ride to Regina's mansion on Mifflin Street. The brunette had demanded that they make a detour to her home before they made their way to the Charming's apartment, just so she could fetch some ' _essentials_ '. When the car stopped and Regina had a full view of her front yard, she froze. Her entire body stiffened and her palms began to sweat. The hand that grasped Emma's tightened and she was fairly certain that everyone in the car could hear her heart racing.

When Emma noticed Regina's sudden change, she squeezed the brunette's hand gently and cleared her throat. "Hey, dad, do you think you could grab some of Regina's stuff for her?" Using her free hand, Emma grasped their joined hands and cradled them.

**_'You do not have to go in there yet, Regina.'_ **

Charming glanced to his daughter in the backseat, and then to Regina, the latter of whom hand dropped her head ungracefully and was undoubtedly trying to burn a hole in her pants with just a stare. "Of course." He looked at his wife and silently asked her to join him.

As soon as her parents were out of the car and making their way up the crowded pathway to Regina's house, Emma pulled her hands away from Regina's and engulfed the woman in the tightest, most secure hug she could manage. The blonde could feel Regina's weak attempts at trying to protest and pull out of the embrace, but instead she simply held the woman closer as she whispered sweet nothings into her ear.

It should have felt odd: holding and calming the usually strong and mighty Regina Mills, yet as Emma held on and Regina's breathing began to slow to it's usual rate, what she felt as anything far from odd. It felt completely natural - like it was something she had always done and probably will always do. Holding the woman she loved in her arms was something Emma was determined to do for as long as she could imagine.

"We _will_ get rid of them," Emma hushed into Regina's ear when she heard the brunette sniffle. "When we get our strength back, and a certain someone has been caught, you and me are going to come here and get rid of them all together, okay? I'll hold your hand the entire time."

Regina sniffled into Emma's shoulder and furiously wiped at her eyes before lifting her head out of the embrace to look at the woman holding her tightly. She opened her mouth several times, searching for something to say until her staggered breath allowed her to speak. "I have to do this myself, Emma. I've put you in enough danger over the last week; I would never be able to live with myself if I put you in any more."

"You haven't put me in any danger." Emma told her adamantly. She took the brunette's chin between her thumb and forefinger, lifting Regina's face from where it had slumped. "I am capable of making my own decisions. I decided that I wasn't going to hide my feelings for you and we broke a curse. I chose to leave your house after our date and I got kidnapped. And now, I'm choosing to help you clear your yard of your past, so if something happens to me, it will be my own fault."

"And then that would be my fault because you chose to do it for _me_!" Regina pulled herself out of Emma's hold completely and settled the woman with one of her infamous glares. "Quit trying to be chivalrous all of the time, Miss Swan. For once in your damned life, just do as someone asks of you."

"Don't ' _Miss Swan'_ me, Regina, because we both know that you didn't have to search all over town to find me, but you _did_ because you wanted to. So, get down off your high horse and accept the fact that I'm going to be standing beside you when you deal with that shitstorm because _I want to_."

In a single, swift movement, Emma went from sitting high and mighty to practically crippled until she leaned back into the seat of the car and clenched the tightly packed and magically bound wounds on her torso. She inhaled sharply as a wave of pain took over her entire body. Her body began to quiver as she attempted to regain her breathing and force herself to fight through the bout of pain just to stay conscious. When Regina noticed the fear in Emma's eyes, every cruel comment and malicious intent that had began swarming in her mind disappeared. All she could focus on was Emma.

"Emma, what's wrong?" She knew her voice sounded just as panicked as Emma felt as she gripped onto the blonde's wrist. "What happened?"

Through several gasps, Emma managed to stutter: "Broken," she gasped again, "wound."

When she squeezed her eyes shut, Regina pulled Emma's arm away from the lacerations on her stomach. Although she should have known exactly what to expect from the wound, Regina couldn't help but gasp when she saw the blood slowly seeping through Emma's thick t-shirt. The wounds were deep when Emma was found, yes, but what confused Regina the most was that Rumple that healed several layers of skin over the laceration. So, in Regina's eyes, nothing could have broken through those layers.

Slowly, she raised Emma's shirt to find the bandages soaked in blood. Regina wasn't a squeamish person, yet the sight of Emma's blood pouring out onto the backseat made her head spin.

"Emma, I need you to transfer some of your magic into me." Regina placed both of her hands either side of the bleeding wound and focused on the energy that she had become used to Emma transferring into her. "It will be difficult, but I need to heal this fast or you're going to bleed out."

Emma weakly nodded and gripped onto Regina's shoulder, channelling her mind to coincide with her love's. Within an instant and a huge flash of light, Emma's stomach had stopped bleeding and Regina's body had become limp in her lap.

"Regina, wake up," Emma fretted as she shook Regina's body violently. When the brunette didn't even stir, she tried again. "Regina, please wake up. I need you here and I need you to wake up." Again, she received nothing. "For god sake, Regina. Stop being so damn stubborn and wake up so I can tell you how ungrateful _I_ am that you put yourself in danger for _me._ "

This time, Regina's body retaliated; her limp body stiffened and a sharp intake of oxygen caused her body to expand and jolt. At the sudden movement and expectation that Regina would wake, Emma unbuckled the woman's seat belt and attempted to pull her as far onto her lap as she could. With Regina's almost dead weight and Emma's lack of energy, the brunette's upper body was barely draped across the blonde's. She cradled her unconscious True Love as her breathing became even and her heartbeat was strong enough for Emma feel it beat against her own.

*#*#*#*

When Regina woke with a pounding headache and heavy limbs, she instantly panicked. Everything around her was unfamiliar; the bed she lay on, the crumbling brick walls, the light and airy feeling in the room. It was almost all too much. Yet, the blanket that draped over her body was the only comfort she had - it smelt like Emma. The entire damn bed smelt like Emma, but the woman in question was nowhere to be seen.

That triggered the alarm bells.

Regina hadn't taken her eyes off Emma since the moment they found her (minus the time at the hospital when Emma's life was hanging on by the tiniest thread). Her desire to constantly know the blonde's whereabouts when she first came to town had spiralled out of control into the constant desire of knowing where Emma was and if she was okay every second of the day. She couldn't even pinpoint the moment she stopped plotting Emma's demise to starting to care strongly about the woman. So when Regina realised that she was completely alone in what she believed to be Emma's bedroom, she tried her hardest to remain calm in the hope that the blonde was somewhere safe under her parents' watchful eyes.

Or at least she hoped that was the case. Luck was never really on their side to bet that Emma was still safe.

In a struggle, Regina pushed herself up in the bed and managed to gather enough strength to stand. Her weak legs wobbled and shook before eventually giving way, causing her to fall onto the wooden bedside table with a crash. Biting down her instincts to say put, she willed her legs to move and heaved herself back onto her shaking limbs to try again. This time, she managed to drag her heavy feet towards the end of the bed before she needed to reach out to grab the bedpost to stop herself from colliding heavily with the floor again. But her arms let her down. Every ounce of strength in her body had unwillingly been drained from her system, leaving every muscle in her body feeling limp and tired.

Regina hadn't realised that she was still slouched on the floor until a strong pair of arms wrapped around her waist and hoisted her up to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You're supposed to be resting, Regina." Charming told her with his hands on his hips, looking very much like the disapproving father she imagined he would have been had he raised Emma in the Enchanted Forest.

"Where is Emma?" She asked, avoiding his gaze.

"I was trying to bring her upstairs when you decided to cause havoc - flinging yourself around the room."

"I wasn't _flinging_ myself anywhere, Charming. I simply worried for your daughter's safety upon waking." Regina snapped. Her eyes wandered over to the bedroom door as to avoid any knowing eye contact from Charming. His simple _'Mhmm,_ ' was enough to tell her that he knew she was trying to distance herself from her connection with Emma.

Charming lessened his stare on Regina and helped the brunette back into the bed. He should have been surprised at the way she simply surrendered to his generosity, but after what he had seen from the woman over the last few days, he knew she didn't have it in herself to be unkind to the people that helped her find her True Love after she had tried stopping their own search for so long.

Once Regina was settled and comfortable, the former shepherd left the room by means of fetching his daughter, leaving Regina alone again with nothing but her thoughts for company. She knew that was never a good idea, yet she was almost glad that she had been given time to recollect herself and her mind before Emma was brought back to her. Her mind needed the reassurance that her love was safe in the apartment she had shielded with magic the moment the first curse broke. She needed the reassurance that everything could fall into place and become normal once they were both fit and healthy again.

She smiled to herself at the thought of waking every morning with Emma in her arms and calling it _normal_. There was nothing more in this world, or the next, that she wanted than calling Emma and Henry her family for the rest of her life.

"Hey," came a raspy voice from the doorway, prompting Regina to attempt to sit up. "You worry too much."

"Please, tell me: where you would have been had I not worried about you in the first place?"

Emma raised a challenging eyebrow as her father guided her over to the other side of the bed. "Exactly where I am right now because I totally had all of that under control."

"Of course you would have," Regina chuckled stiffly and waited for Emma to get comfortable under the comforter before she attempted to turn herself onto her side.

The moment Emma seemed comfortable in her position, Charming hastily left the room and shut the door behind him; he didn't need to see his daughter flirting with another woman in her bed.

"Why the hell did you do that, Regina?" Emma asked as soon as the door closed. "You could have killed yourself, goddammit."

"You're welcome, Miss Swan." Regina almost bit. Her position in the bed felt just as intimate as it had done at the hospital - except no one would walk in on them this time. This time, it was real and absolutely terrifying. With a huff, Regina allowed her eyes to meet Emma's. "I did it because I couldn't let you die. You're more desired and loved than I will ever be. Could you imagine how everyone would have reacted if you had died and I hadn't tried to save you?" ' _You could never imagine how I would have reacted if you had died,'_ was left completely unsaid but loudly heard.

Biting the bullet, Emma reached out and cupped Regina's face. She felt ridiculous to act so open, yet something deep in her gut told her what she needed to tell Regina. Some things couldn't be left unsaid with this woman. "I don't want to lose you, Regina."

"I'm not going anywhere, Emma." Regina held Emma's hand against her cheek with a light smile. "I'm not going anywhere."


	20. Nuisance

**CHAPTER TWENTY - Nuisance**

Not knowing how Regina and Sheriff Swan were doing made Charlotte anxious. Every time the sixteen year old glanced up at the clock in the kitchen of the children's home, she realised that it had been another hour without news from either of them. She simply couldn't focus her mind on anything. The only things she could do were to watch Amira and try her absolute hardest to stay as far away from Hayden as she physically could - just as Regina asked her to. She couldn't let Regina down, yet Charlotte couldn't keep her cautious mind away from what Hayden may be planning next.

She had already seen him several times that morning, wandering between the kitchen and the basement. Neither of them said a word to each other; Charlotte tried to look as though she was too busy to even notice him, while Hayden seemed to be doing a damn good job at acting as though she didn't even exist. Which was good, she supposed, but there was something about his ignorance that rang the alarm bells in her mind. Throughout her time in the children's home, Hayden had never once failed to acknowledge her or help her in any way he could. They weren't friends, but he was always happy to help. That's why she had always trusted him. But this blatant ignorance wasn't his style; he treated her like a younger sister, and Charlotte couldn't help partially enjoy his company sometimes. Especially when he was really the only other _kid_ in the house on her same mental stature.

The first time Charlotte spotted him that morning, he was scurrying into the basement. He carried an empty, black garbage sack in one hand and a small compact mirror (one that she had spotted in Mother Superior's office at the convent many times) in the other. When she watched him return, he carried the same garbage sack, which now seemed to be bulging with stuff, while the compact mirror was clutched so tight in his hand that his knuckles had turned white. In the thirty minutes he had been down there, he had gone from looking completely neutral to borderline murderous.

Charlotte couldn't even deny how much he terrified her now. She saw how Sheriff Swan looked when Mayor Mills, Mr. Nolan and Mr. Gold carried her out from the basement. The woman wasn't a pretty sight, and Charlotte sure as hell didn't want to know what had happened to her in that basement.

On his third trip back down to the basement, carrying nothing but the small mirror, Charlotte threw down the book she was reading at the breakfast bar and waited at the door to the basement before following him down several of the steps that plummeted into darkness. When she heard him rummaging around near the bottom of the steps, she paused, and listened. Her breathing became shallow and her heart rate sped up. If he caught her, she was dead meat. If he caught her, who was there to come find her? She didn't have a family that would worry about her whereabouts like Sheriff Swan did. She was completely alone.

The mere moments that she stood waiting on the stairs felt like she had been waiting for hours.

What she was expecting to see, she didn't know, but hearing the voices of Sheriff Swan and Regina wasn't something she anticipated.

" _I don't want to lose you, Regina._ " She heard Emma whisper. The Sheriff's voice wasn't clear, but from what Charlotte could hear, it sounded like the woman was on the verge of tears.

" _I'm not going anywhere, Emma._ "

She wanted to hear more. She wanted to know if they we're okay, but the instant the mirror closed, fear set deep in Charlotte's mind. The last thing she needed was to get caught by a psychopath and stuck in the same situation Sheriff Swan had been in. As quickly and as quietly as she could, Charlotte hurled herself towards the basement door and skid onto the kitchen floor. She knew she hadn't been quiet enough to not allow herself to be heard, but her heartbeat drummed through her body and echoed through her ears too loudly for her to even hear the wooden floorboards creak beneath her sneakers.

Racing through the kitchen, Charlotte could swear she heard Hayden calling out from the basement, but she didn't stop. She couldn't stop. Adrenaline took full control over her legs and feet, carrying her straight towards the playroom, where Amira was toddling around in a plastic crown that slid down to her nose every time she tilted her little head.

With a heavy sigh, she dropped herself onto the old carpet in front of the small child. Her heart was in her mouth and her breathing came through thick and fast. What if he saw her? What if he was already on his way to confront her about what she heard? What if he was planning to corner her when she was off guard?

Charlotte gulped.

The thought of staying in the Children's Home any longer filled her with dread. The idea of it sent a huge, ice cold wave of fear through her bones and a whole new series of 'what if' questions began to bombard her mind. And Amira was at the centre of all of them.

The 3-year-old must have sensed something was wrong when she looked up to the teenager with a small smile before dropping her bottom straight into Charlotte's lap and making herself comfortable on her new perch. The child continued to play in Charlotte's lap without even acknowledging how much she had reassured the girl. Having Amira so close to her made the teen slightly more relaxed about the situation she had found herself in. However, the most relaxing thing was that Hayden hadn't come for her. In fact, she hadn't even seen him leave the basement or kitchen through the playroom door. ' _Maybe he's still plotting things_ ' Charlotte thought to herself as Nova skipped into the room with the plate of cookies the teenager had made when she returned from her ' _educational_ ' classes in the convent.

"Oh, Charlotte. These are delicious," Nova hummed, taking a large bite out of one of the cookies. "Did you make these for the children?"

Charlotte stared up at the fairy, who seemed to be watching her every movement, and opened her mouth to speak before quickly shutting it. They were for the other kids, but if she could come up with a reason to visit Emma and Regina, she decided she would take it.

"No, uh..." She stalled, "they're actually for Mayor Mills and Sheriff Swan. I heard that the Sheriff was feeling better today, so I thought I could maybe take a walk over to pay a visit this afternoon." She glanced down at Amira, whose eyes gleamed at the sound of Emma and Regina's names. "With Amira, of course. She hasn't been on a walk in a couple of days and she's been quite restless."

Charlotte chewed her bottom lip and added some puppy dog eyes for effect. If Nova said 'no', there was no way that she and Amira were going to be getting out to see the two women any time soon. Nova had never even contemplated allowing Charlotte out before, so this time, as the ditsy fairy watched her with beady eyes, Charlotte knew she had the right to be worried about what the green fairy was thinking.

"Please, Nova." Charlotte almost felt like she was begging.

"Hm." Nova narrowed her eyes, "You may go. But you must return in time to help put the youngsters to bed and I have to request that you take the car. If Sheriff Swan can be captured, then so could you, young lady. Mother Superior and I wouldn't appreciate spending the day wandering through Storybrooke trying to find you."

' _What's got into her?!_ ' Charlotte thought to herself. ' _Mother Superior must have terrified all of the fairies into thinking that no one's safe around here. God, she'd be terrified if she found out that the psychopath on the loose is the kid everyone seems to love and trust_.'

"Yes, Sister. Thank you."

Nova passed the plate of cookies down to Charlotte and sauntered off towards some of the other kids playing in the room. Watching her walk away felt like a huge weight had been lifted from the teen's shoulders. She was free to run to safety, even if it was only for a few hours. That was good enough for her. Any time with the Sheriff and the Mayor seemed like a good idea to Charlotte. She didn't know why she had quickly become so attached to the two women and their son, but something about her own past and theirs seemed to weave them together, creating a hypothetical safety net for her. There wasn't anything she didn't know about Regina's past. She had spent the weeks that the whole Charming clan had been in Neverland learning about her life before Storybrooke.

The brunette was a heartbroken girl that wanted nothing more than to be loved. Everything about the stories, Charlotte found she could relate to them - apart from having an abundance of magic and destroying the happiness of hundreds of people, yet she reassured herself that she would have done the same had she been unfortunate enough to run into Rumplestiltskin on her journeys.

Without being told to do so, Amira pushed herself up from Charlotte's lap and toddled over to the box of toys she had been stomping around before the teen entered the room. She took off her crown and began throwing the toys on the floor into the box. Once she had put everything away, she bounced toward Charlotte with a beaming grin plastered across her little face.

"We go see 'Gina now?"

"Yeah, we'll go see 'Gina now."

*#*#*#*

Emma didn't remember falling asleep again. She didn't even remember getting under the covers, so when she woke up in Regina's arms beneath her huge comforter, the blonde felt slightly disorientated. She looked up at the peaceful, sleeping face of the brunette holding her and took a few deep breaths. For the first time in her life, she was anxious about how she had made it into the bed. ' _Maybe Regina tucked us in_ ', she considered. That would be a whole load better than either one of her parents doing it for them. Especially not her mom. God, no. Not her mom.

Just the thought of her mother having to put the two of them to bed made Emma cringe. As if Snow didn't already hate the idea of the two of them enough. All she wanted was to be welcomed and accepted in the only place she wanted to call home, and instead, she was captured, tortured, beaten, and told that her love was wrong. Life was definitely not a _fairy tale_ for Emma Swan.

Emma huffed and shuffled onto her side, hoping to ignore the thoughts running through her head by watching Regina sleep with the smallest smile on her face. The twists and turns, however, caused her stomach to pull and her chest to heave, both sending sharp pains throughout her body. Even after multiple doses of drugs, every part of Emma's body continued to ache. She tried to hold in the grunt and whimper, but had no such luck.

The small noises and abrupt movements from beside her stirred Regina from her peaceful slumber. It took a short while for her to come around and realise where she was and who was laying in the same bed as her. In a second, Regina's eyes shot open and a moment of panic set through her, immediately thinking the worst had happened to her love.

"Emma?" Regina croaked. "What happened? Are you okay?"

She gripped the nightshirt she had dressed Emma in before she slept and supported her shoulders on the headboard behind them. When the brunette spotted Emma's grimacing face and guilty look in her eyes she let go of the shirt and cupped Emma's cheek instead.

"Are you okay?"

Emma tried to force out a reassuring smile as she attempted to settle back into a comfortable position on the bed. "I moved awkwardly when I was trying not to wake you." She sighed and actually managed an apologetic smile this time. "I'm sorry."

Regina rolled her eyes, feigning irritation and reached over the blonde for her prescribed painkillers and water she had previously set beside Emma's side of the bed. She couldn't understand why the blonde woman was apologising for her discomfort; the poor woman had been attacked, ripped open, died and almost stayed dead, all within seventy-two hours - she had a right to be uncomfortable.

She watched Emma graciously throw back the two little pills with a sense of relief in her eyes. Regina hated seeing the other woman like this; she hated knowing that the strong, independent woman could shatter into the smallest of pieces. Emma Swan wasn't one to wear her heart on her sleeve, which made her situation all the more distressing.

"Thank you,"

"Please stop acting like you're a nuisance," Regina narrowed her eyes at the blonde and studied her for a moment, watching the light from the partially covered window dance across Emma's pale cheeks. "You're annoying at the best of times, but you're never a nuisance, Miss Swan."

"You really have a way with words, you know that?" Emma tried to laugh, but produced nothing more than a wince as another shot of pain wracked against her ribs.

She took several deep breaths with her eyes squeezed shut, completely oblivious of the other woman tentatively watching her every movement with a furrowed brow. For once in her damned life she finally felt comfortable enough to be so open about her pain, even if it was still incredibly reluctant to be doing so. Emma didn't care that Regina saw her at her weakest moment. She didn't care about how frail and delicate she had become. All Emma cared about was that Henry was safe and that Regina was by her side, while slowly opening up to the idea that she may have found herself a real true love.

"Stop thinking and breathe through the pain, Emma. We've all noticed that you cause yourself more injury by thinking than anything else." Regina smirked when she spotted Emma's faint smile as the blonde slowly began to open her eyes again. "And voila. The pain has subsided."

With Emma's bad bed hair and her oversized pink nightshirt, her attempt at a glare was far too ridiculous for Regina to even consider taking it seriously. ' _All she needs now is a set of pigtails and a teddy bear and Miss Swan would look like the child she is._ ' Regina thought to herself with no real malicious attempt.

"I heard that, you know," Emma grumbled as she played with the hem of her shirt, silently debating whether to check to see if she had immaculately managed to burst through her magically healed wounds again. "We're still on that never ending phone call, remember?"

Regina's blush began in the base of her neck and comically rose up past her chin and straight to her forehead. She didn't mean for Emma to have caught it, especially in her vulnerable state, but Regina couldn't help but stifle a laugh at it all.

"I'm sorry, dear." Regina said as she tried to swallow her blush and the laughter that seemed to be uncontrollably emitting from the back of her throat. She caught the movement of Emma's hands tentatively toying with her shirt and placed a hand atop of the blonde's.

"Has it torn again?" Her voice was soft and gentle this time.

Emma shrugged. "I don't think so. It just burns; it feels like my back and my stomach are on fire."

The brunette could visibly see how uncomfortable she had become. She looked to the blonde as if to silently request permission to check beneath her gauze and bandages. When she received her quick nod of approval, Regina adjusted the comforter to sit atop of Emma's hips before pulling up her nightshirt to reveal the gauze and bandages wrapped tightly around the blonde's abdomen.

With tentative hands, Regina rolled the corners of the sticky gauze until the entire laceration on Emma's stomach had been revealed. Much to the relief of both women, Regina's quick (and although fatally hazardous) fix had remained intact throughout the night. Pleased with her handiwork, the brunette gently traced her index finger along the side of the healing pink flesh. She was almost surprised at the clear depth of the wound, even through the multiple layers of skin that had been formed through magic.

"I'm so sorry, Emma." She sighed as she reached the end of the laceration. "This never should have happened to you."

"It's fine. I'm fine." Emma attempted to reassure the other woman as she blinked away the tears that had been pooling in her eyes. "We're all fine."

Regina offered a tight lipped smile that wouldn't have been believed by anyone who saw it, but it was the only way she could think of reflecting her understanding of the situation. Rather than saying any more on the matter, Regina took one of the many packs of bandages and gauze that Charming had packed onto Emma's bedside table and got to work recovering the wounds.

Once they were covered, Regina slowly pushed herself off the bed and dragged her heavy feet across to the dainty closet in the corner of the room.

"Regina, what are you doing now?!" Emma asked impatiently, knowing full well that Regina was also under complete bedrest from Dr. Whale. "Get back in bed, otherwise it'll be my mother picking you up off the floor this time, and not my father because someone has to be in charge of the Sheriff's department."

Regina rolled her eyes as she pulled open the wooden door to reveal an abundance of white tank tops, a few shirts she knew all too well that were her own, and enough denim jeans to build a cowboy's paradise.

"Do you personally, as in Emma Swan, own anything that isn't a ribbed white tank top or denim jeans? Because that's all I see in here, apart from many of my very expensive shirts that I believed to have gone missing in the wash at some point last year."

Emma bit her lip, realising exactly what Regina meant. Their son had been kind enough to raid his mother's closet on countless occasions to be able to provide his blonde mother with suitable clothes to wear on a daily basis.

"Try the drawers," She offered sheepishly.

With a few moans and groans from her aching body, Regina managed to lug open the nearest drawer in the bottom of the closet, that just so happily revealed lycra sportswear and plenty of stretchy leggings. She picked up two pairs of black leggings, and two similar university shirts to the ones they were given at the hospital yesterday.

"Put these on," Regina insisted as she threw a shirt and leggings at the blonde in bed. "A change of clothes may help you feel a little better."

*#*#*#*

As Charlotte pulled up outside of Snow and Charming's house with Amira incoherently singing nursery rhymes in the backseat, she spotted Henry and Miss Ruby Lucas running towards them with huge grins on their faces. Clearly to Charlotte, Henry was excitedly running home from school in his uniform, ready to spend the evening with his moms. The teenager pretended not to feel the twinge of jealousy that he had even been given the chance to attend school, even during the curse, when the only classes she has ever sat through were literature classes, mathematics classes, and since the curse broke, history classes on the Enchanted Forest, all taught by the fairies themselves.

She briefly shook off her disappointed thoughts and jumped out of the high people carrier and took to taking Amira out of her car seat and settling the toddler on the curve of her hip.

"Hey, Charlotte!" Henry waved as he sped up in his approach. "Have you come to see my moms too?"

"Yeah, I… uh, wanted to bring them the cookies I made earlier, and I think Amira loves the two of them." She gave him a weak smile and acknowledged the presence of the former wolf.

"Rubes, this is Charlotte - you know, the girl that took me from Granny's yesterday? She lives at the convent with Tink and Nova and the other fairies!" Henry excitedly explained. "And that's Amira. She lives there too. Charlotte, this is Ruby. She's my Ma's best friend, and I know my mom really likes her too, even though she won't admit it..."

Ruby overlooked what Henry was trying to say, already knowing that Regina didn't actually mind her company in comparison to many of the people in town. She smiled at the kids in front of her and tried her damned hardest not to point out the similarities between the girls and Henry's moms. Now she knew why Regina had taken a quick shine to them. She pulled a face at the toddler and took her from Charlotte's protective grasp.

"Do you want to go see Emma and Regina, young lady?" Ruby cooed at the child, making her squirm and squeal the names of the Mayor and Sheriff.

Henry grabbed the sleeve of Charlotte's dress and pulled her towards his grandparents' apartment. "Come on!"

Charlotte grinned at the boy and couldn't help but follow in a sprint that matched Henry's. She couldn't pinpoint why, by for some unbeknownst reason, she couldn't help but feel like a child again around Henry. He brought out her playful side instead of her maternal instincts that seemed to be stronger than ever these days.

As the four burst into the apartment, they sound Snow talking animatedly to the Blue Fairy, who perked up when she noticed the presence of two of the children that resided in her Children's Home.

"Charlotte," Blue spoke with concern and authority. Her disapproving glare was enough to inform the teenager that she would be in trouble soon. "What on earth are you doing here unaccompanied?"

"Sister Nova gave us permission to use the car to come visit Mayor Mills and Sheriff Swan. Amira and I wanted to wish them well." Charlotte held her freshly baked cookies in tupperware box and held them up for the fairy to see. "We even made cookie for them."

The fairy hummed and turned her head in dismissal of the group. Snow on the other hand rushed over to greet her grandson home from school. She fussed over his messy hair, took his backpack from his shoulders and offered to feed him more than any grown man could eat in a week.

"I'm fine, grandma," he giggled as he tried to brush away her kisses. "I'm just gonna see mom and ma and tell them about school! And Ruby brought them chicken soup from Granny's too."

"Okay, sweetheart." She smiled at him with a sad looking smile, but Henry didn't notice it. He was too excited about seeing his mothers - his imagination couldn't process any more negativity, especially when it involved his family. "Could you remind them that they have to have their IV fluids in an hour, please?"

Henry nodded before looking at Charlotte, then the stairs, then Charlotte again. She knew he wanted a race, and for once, she was more than happy to divulge in her youth. They squabbled at the bottom of the metal staircase before they realised that the two of them could climb together if they linked arms and moved their feet together. Once they had reached the top of the stairs with Ruby and Amira hot on their heels, loudly encouraging the two, the race began again. They sprinted across the hall before coming to an abrupt stop outside Emma and Regina's bedroom.

"You can go first." Charlotte nervously offered, giving Henry a little nudge towards the door.

"No, you can go first." Henry counter argued as he took a step backwards. "You're their guest. And besides, you brought them cookies. You should go first."

"You're their kid! You go first."

"If the two of you are going to argue about it, Amira and I will go first. Besides, we've got soup and princess rings, don't we?" Ruby tickled the child's stomach as she flashed Henry and Charlotte her oversized plastic play rings.

With a smug grin, Ruby allowed Amira to knock the white wooden door before slowly cracking it open, hoping not to be walking in on the two most powerful women in town fast asleep together.

"Wakey wakey…" Ruby whispered when she spotted Emma and Regina snuggled together in silence, both staring far into the distance, bringing them both sharply back to reality.

Surprising no one in the room, Regina shot up from her position in Emma's arms the second she spotted Ruby, trying her damned hardest to keep her dignity intact by tugging the comforter up to her chest. The Charmings, Whale and Gold had all seen her as a shattered image of herself over a period of seventy-two hours, so Regina did not want to be adding the Wolf to that list too.

"It's nice to see you too, Madame Mayor." Ruby scoffed, feigning offence. "I come baring gifts and visitors!"

Amira had been squirming in Ruby's arms and begging to be let down from the second she spotted the two women. After losing her battle to even keep the toddler upright, the lanky woman placed the child on the end of bed and watched in fascination as Amira crawled up the bed and wedged herself between Emma and Regina as if she had been doing it since the moment she learnt to crawl.

Regina and Emma grinned at each other as they watched the toddler wriggle her way into a very comfortable spot before trying to tuck her legs beneath the comforter with them.

"Hi, munchkin!" Emma beamed at the child, receiving a grin from her baby doppelganger that matched her own.

Regina placed a light kiss on the child's head as she began to show Emma her collection of plastic toy rings that she had managed to smuggle out of the playroom in the Children's Home. Leaving the two to play for a little while, the brunette gestured for the former wolf to approach the bed.

"Thank you for everything you've done over the last few days. I don't really know what we would have done without you." Admitted Regina as honestly as possible. Her statement was true – had Ruby not offered to traipse Henry back and forth to school and to the diner afterwards while they were searching for Emma and while the two of them were recovering in hospital, she didn't know how she would have dealt with her son in the situation. She just wanted the young woman to understand how truly grateful she was.

"That's just what friends do, right?" Ruby smirked when Regina didn't argue their ' _friendship_ ' label and placed a bag from Granny's on the bedside table next to the older woman. "Granny insisted that I bring some soup for you both. It's her old chicken recipe from the Enchanted Forest."

Regina's eyes lit up slightly and a dainty smile graced her lips. "Thank you, Ruby." She glanced over at Emma, then back to Ruby. "For everything."

"You're welcome." The lanky brunette crouched slightly by the Regina's side and glanced around the room to make sure Henry and Charlotte weren't listening. Her voice turned to a light whisper. "What happened, Regina? Is she okay?"

Matching her whisper and solemn look, Regina nodded. "She's going to be fine, but it's going to take some time. But I don't think now is the time to discuss it. Just know that we were lucky to have arrived when we did."

Ruby nodded and squeezed Regina's leg through the comforter in understanding. "I have to run and get back to the diner, otherwise Granny will have my head on a stick outside the diner." Ruby joked and turned to Emma, "I'll call you soon, okay?"

"See ya, Rubes!" Henry and Emma shouted in sync as she descended the stairs, essentially prompting Henry to give up his and Charlotte's whereabouts outside the room, where they were still quarrelling through whispers and hisses between themselves.

"Henry Daniel Mills, why on earth are you hiding in the hallway?" Regina asked from her bed the moment she heard her son's ever deepening voice.

With a shove from Charlotte, Henry stumbled into the doorway with a guilty grin on his face. "Hey, moms!"

"You too, Charlotte…"

The teenager rounded the corner and into the bedroom with a terrified look plastered on her face. Regina could see how guilty she felt just from the stance she took beside Henry. Her dark curls framed the sides of her olive skin as she chewed on her lip in an attempt to hide her nervous demeanour.

"I'm sorry, Madame Mayor. Henry and I were discussing something outside that we didn't think should be discussed here, while you're both feeli-"

Regina stopped the girl's rambling with a simple hand movement that she loved to use when spooking people who visited her Mayoral office. Henry noticed it too and stood up straight. His cheeky smile had faded into an embarrassed blush. She held a steady disappointed glare over the two children for a moment, until she could feel them both squirming beneath it before she decided to say anything.

"I just don't understand why the two of you deemed it fit to hide outside for that length of time…" she paused for a second, just to make them squirm a little more. She glanced over at the blonde woman beside her, just to see her catch on and glance at the kids in front of them with a glare that matched Regina's. "We were expecting the two of you to have behaved better than that."

"Exactly," Emma chirped in, trying her hardest not to laugh at Amira, who had joined in with the women either side of her and crossed her arms over her tiny chest. "I'm just shocked that we didn't even get a cuddle!"

Charlotte's jaw went slack, her eyes bulged slightly and her shoulders slumped in relief. The look on both Regina and Sheriff Swan's faces had terrified her before they turned into huge grins. She had expected to be chastised for being rude. It wouldn't have been the first time that happened, but she was desperate not to give herself a bad name between the Mayor and the Sheriff.

Henry, on the other hand, grinned along with his mothers once he had caught up with them and run towards his brunette mother, giving her a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek before pulling himself free to circle the bed and hug and kiss his blonde mother in the same way.

Taking the hint, Charlotte eventually followed suit and hugged Regina tightly with a light laugh of relief. "I was so terrified that we had upset you." She said, once Regina let her pull out of their brief hug. "Amira and I were so determined to see you both, that the last thing I wanted to do was offend you in any way."

"Oh, dear. Goodness, no; we're just incredibly grateful that you thought of us. I'm sorry we tormented you." Regina's rich laughter was like music to Charlotte's ears. In all the years she had seen the Mayor wandering through Storybrooke, never had she once heard her laugh so loudly and pure as she had done in the last few days Charlotte had personally known her.

Charlotte grinned back at the Mayor, before rounding the bed to Emma's side and giving the Sheriff a much more gentle hug, just to make sure that she didn't hurt the Sheriff any more than she had already been.

"What were you guys talking about outside that was too much for our delicate ears to hear?" Emma asked, when Charlotte pulled out of the most cautious hug Emma had ever received.

Henry was the first to pipe up when he dived across the foot of the bed to face his parents. "The Blue Fairy is downstairs talking to grandma, and Charlotte didn't think you would want to know, but I thought that you would want her to come see you both so she can heal you because she's our family's fairy godmother and she can make every wish come true and-"

"Henry, stop." Regina uttered, looking over to Emma, then Charlotte, then back to Emma again. The wrenching feeling in the pit of her stomach made the brunette feel more than nauseous and the huge smile on her face fell into an almighty scowl. "The gnat knows."


	21. Something Blue

**CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - Something Blue**

_*Earlier that morning*_

Snow had checked on her daughter and Regina umpteen times throughout the night. Every little creak of the floorboards, every little sound of movement or even the sound of the wind whispering against the thin windowpanes around the apartment made Snow jump out of bed and creep towards her daughter's bedroom. When the digital alarm clock on her nightstand flashed 04:00am, she gave in, knowing well enough that she wouldn't be getting a moment's rest, and dropped herself onto the tired couch in front of the blank television screen.

Her mind tormented her as it wandered through every thought and feeling she had experienced over the last few days. She fought between her heart and her head to find the truth in what she was feeling about Emma and Regina, but every time she thought she was getting somewhere, a thick haze clouded her mind, leaving her no better off than she was before. Her heart begged her to be happy that her daughter had found her true love, but her head insisted that this was all wrong. Regina couldn't be _Emma's_ true love - it didn't work like that.

' _But it does_ ', her heart would insist every time. True love was messy and complicated, but it always works out in the end, no matter how complicated it would become.

When 7am rolled around and Henry came stumbling into the living room looking for breakfast, Snow found herself staring into the abyss of the brick walls around her. The entire night had passed her by and left her with no rest or reassurance of her family's _situation_.

"Good morning, Grandma," Henry said through an exhausted yawn. Clearly she hadn't been the only one to have gone without sleep the night before. "Do we have any more of ma's Lucky Charms left?"

In an attempt to show her grandson that she was still trying to be her cheerful self, Snow nodded and glided over to the kitchenette to dig out one of Emma's many boxes of children's cereal (all of which, were for herself and most certainly _not_ for her eleven year old son).

"Did you get any sleep last night, Henry?" She asked, clearly concerned for the wellbeing of her only grandchild.

"Not really," he mumbled as he pulled the milk out of the refrigerator and stretched to reach a bowl from one of the overhead cupboards. "I couldn't stop thinking about ma'. Why would anyone in town do that to her? I thought everyone liked her because she's the saviour and a child of true love, and because she never experienced the Enchanted Forest like you did. It just doesn't make sense that anyone in Storybrooke would want to kill her. She's never done anything bad to anyone here!"

Snow could see the desperation for an answer in Henry's eyes. He reminded her so much of her younger self; they both tried their hardest to see the good in everyone, even when it wasn't actually there. They both struggled with the idea that the world isn't just black and white. Snow knew that she still had to learn to accept that some things were more predominantly grey than pure white, or completely black; people had good inside them, but they also had bad inside them. She of all people knew of the possibilities; she, after all, was supposedly ' _as pure as snow_ ', but as Regina had already showed her, her heart was still tainted by darkness.

The former princess backtracked for a second to look at the boy in front of her. "Henry, who told you that someone wanted to kill Emma?"

He shrugged, "I heard Ruby and Charlotte talking when Charlotte took me to the hospital. She told Ruby that ma' had been kidnapped and that she was close to dying. And Mr. Gold told Dr. Whale that she should have been dead when they found her."

Henry's dark eyes slowly filled with glistening tears that threatened to spill over his lids. In the last year he had been through so much. He almost lost his adoptive mother when the curse broke, he almost lost his birth mother and grandmother in a portal to the Enchanted Forest, he almost lost his adoptive mother _again_ when Greg and Tamara abducted her, and to top it all off, he almost found himself as a lost boy in Neverland. If his mind couldn't function with anymore 'almost's, he sure as hell wouldn't function with a definite.

"Are my moms safe now?" His voice was timid and quiet, and for a moment, Snow could see him as the tiny three-year-old that toddled joyfully around behind his headstrong mother who always had a glare on her face.

"Oh, sweetheart," she soothed, wrapping her grandson in a tight hug. "Of course they're safe. And your grandfather is going to find the person that hurt Emma. Everything is going to be just fine. They're both safe, and nothing is going to harm them, okay?"

Henry nodded, letting out a broken and shaky breath as he did so.

"They're going to be here when you get home from school, and you can spend the rest of your evening with them so that the three of you can be together." She gave his shoulders a reassuring squeeze before letting go. "Your grandfather is going to take you to school today and Ruby will walk you home. That will take your mind off everything, don't you think?"

Henry nodded. Snow smiled at her grandson before kissing him on the forehead and returning to her bedroom to wake her husband. She felt so awful that not enough had been done to protect the eleven year old from seeing the horrors each world had to offer. She didn't even want to think about how very little adult supervision or protection that her daughter had at that age. Her stomach churned with guilt.

Once Charming and Henry had left together for their designated days at work or school, the pixie haired brunette silently climbed the metallic stairs to the loft of her apartment with two IV bags and metal stands that she had been given from the hospital.

For an hour, she sat on the small wooden stool in Emma's bedroom and watched as Emma and Regina's IV drips slowly seeped into their systems. She couldn't find it in herself to stop staring at the way her daughter's body had unconsciously wrapped around Regina's as they slept. Everything between them seemed so peaceful, which was an ironically stark contrast in the way things _used_ to be between them. The two could never stay in the same room together on their own without starting World War III, so seeing them so happy together in such a serene scene made Snow's heart swelled.

She wanted the world for her daughter, but Regina wasn't the world. Regina was Henry's adoptive mother, Snow's former step-mother, and the _Evil Queen_. Snow's heart longed for Regina's happiness to be with Emma, but her head screamed that Regina didn't deserve happiness, and especially not with her daughter. Not when the older woman couldn't provide Emma with everything she deserved.

Snow inwardly groaned every time her head and her heart contradicted themselves.

When the bags had emptied, Snow stood up with a huff from the stool and began to carefully remove the IV connectors from Emma and Regina's arms, trying at all costs not to disturb them. She wrapped the plastic tubes around the empty bags to dispose of them and silently crept out of the room, closing the door with a soft click behind her.

*#*#*#*

After seeing Henry into his school building, David settled back into the police cruiser and sped off down Main Street toward the Sheriff's Station, proudly wearing his deputy badge on his chest. With his chin up and his shoulders squared more than usual, anyone he passed could clearly see that there was something wrong with the deputy. What they didn't realise, however, was how his heart ached for is daughter's safety and her recovery.

He didn't even want to think about how disappointed his wife was in their daughter. All he cared about was Emma's happiness and her safety, and if being with Regina made her happy, then he was more than willing to go out of his way to guarantee his daughter's safety. David knew how strong his daughter was, but he also knew how strong the people of the Enchanted Forest were when they proved to dislike something.

He was greeted with a pathetic attempt at a cheerful grin from Ruby when he arrived at the station.

"Hey, Ruby," He offered the brunette a weak smile that hid nothing of his wild emotions. "Thanks for standing in as my deputy on such short notice. I know that Emma would be grateful too if she knew. "

"Are you kidding me? I want to find this asshole just as much as you do." She pulled a large box of donuts out of a brown paper bag on her reserved desk. "See? I even brought snacks for the hunt."

This time, David couldn't help but give a genuinely happy smile. He and Ruby had never really had the chance to get to know one another in the Enchanted Forest, but from what he had seen from her, he could tell that the two of them were more alike than they cared to think.

"I don't quite think we're going to be pounding the pavements today. We're just going to have to build up some evidence so that we actually have a case. Emma wants to make sure that everything that happens here goes by the legalities of this world, so we can't just bang down doors and demand information from random citizens. We need a reason why we're calling people in to interview them." He slumped down onto the chair behind his desk and roughly rubbed his face. "We have a hunch to who was behind it, but we've got no proof."

"Okay," Ruby hummed in understanding. "What proof have you already got?"

*#*#*#*

Snow had pottered around the apartment for hours. She had cleaned the kitchenette four times in the last hour, and by 1pm, she had run out of things to clean and do to take her mind away from her thoughts. She even had to rearrange her closet when she heard hushed voices conversing upstairs. Hearing the two of them talking in such an intimate situation did nothing but make Snow's head pound. Snow knew that Regina was still winning - she had still somehow managed to take her daughter away from her and remain a free woman.

At 2pm, when a knock at the door echoed around the apartment, a wave of relief fell over Snow as she raced to answer her visitor. Any distraction was a welcome distraction.

She pulled open the door with a welcoming smile to be met with an overly familiar face.

"Blue!" Snow exclaimed, pulling the door open wide to welcome the fairy. Her smile faltered slightly, even though she remained as cheerful as she could. "I wasn't expecting you this afternoon. Is everything okay?"

The fairy sauntered into the apartment in her full Mother Superior garb with an emotionless facial expression to match. "I would have called in advance, but I've been busy with the children and our preparations for the Miner's Day festival. And I thought it best to have this conversation in person, considering what happened to Emma, of course."

Snow was taken aback by the stern tone in the Blue Fairy's voice. She nodded and quickly closed the door before following the fairy to the dining table in the centre of the apartment.

"Should we be worried?" Snow asked, feeling intimidated by the stern looks she was receiving across the table.

"Just as long as you take my word in precaution, you and your family will be just fine, Snow." The pixie haired brunette sighed in relief, looking to Blue to continue. "After our little turn of events on Mifflin Street at the weekend, I couldn't help myself in doing some research on soul mates and the power of _true love_. As it so turns out, I was correct. Emma and Regina do _not_ share a true love that you have with Charming. They have, so to speak, an unconditional love for one another."

Snow tilted her head in confusion. "But if what they have is unconditional, doesn't that mean it is still true?"

"Of course, but this isn't a physical love. This is an ideological love. Or even _mutual appreciation_. Emma loves and appreciates Regina for raising Henry and moulding him to become the wonderful boy that he is. Whereas Regina loves and appreciates Emma for simply bringing Henry into this world. There is no love of physical attraction or lust between them." The Blue Fairy reached over the table, placing her dainty hand atop of Snow's. "We have to figure out a way to deviate Emma away from Regina. Emma's true love and true soul mate is in this town, she just has to realise it's him."

Snow nodded almost frantically, completely missing the pale blue magic surrounding her and Blue's hands on the table together.

"Regina won't leave her side at the moment. The second she takes her eyes off Emma she causes a fuss. There's no way that we can distract her enough to get her away from Emma."

The Blue Fairy glanced down at the table between them and thought for a moment. It was almost as though Snow could see the cogs turning inside her mind. Then, as if in a flash, Blue's head shot up and her eyes glistened with excitement.

"Henry…" She whispered, almost like taking precautions of any eavesdroppers. "Emma is too weak to react, but Regina will be back on her feet in a few days." She paused as if to wait for confirmation that Snow was on the same page as she was. "We're going to have to convince Henry to ' _go missing_ ' for a little while. Regina will panic and leave Emma's side. That way, we can send in Baelfire to talk to her."

With a look of complete astonishment on her face, Snow stared at the fairy before her. Blue's suggestion was ridiculous, and Snow knew it. There was no chance that this plan would work. It was far too suspicious.

"That wouldn't work, not for a second. Regina is far too intelligent for that, and Henry has a cell phone now that she and Emma can track-"

Almost as if he was on cue, Henry burst into the apartment, followed by Ruby, Amira and Charlotte.

"Charlotte," Blue spoke with concern and authority when she spotted the girl in the doorway. Her disapproving glare was enough to inform the teenager that she would be in trouble soon. "What on earth are you doing here unaccompanied?"

"Sister Nova gave us permission to use the car to come visit Mayor Mills and Sheriff Swan. Amira and I wanted to wish them well." Charlotte held her freshly baked cookies in tupperware box and held them up for the fairy to see. "We even made cookies for them."

The fairy hummed in dismissal of the group, while Snow jumped up from the table and scurried over to her grandson. She grinned at the boy before her, noticing how happier and much more energetic he seemed since their conversation over breakfast. She fussed over his messy hair, took his backpack from his shoulders and offered to feed him more than any grown man could eat in a week.

"Are you sure I can't make you even a sandwich, Henry?"

"I'm fine, grandma," he giggled as he tried to brush away her kisses. "I'm just gonna see mom and ma and tell them about school! And Ruby brought them chicken soup from Granny's too."

"Okay, sweetheart." She smiled at him with a sad looking smile, but Henry didn't notice it. He was too excited about seeing his mothers - his imagination couldn't process any more negativity, especially when it involved his family. "Could you remind them that they have to have their IV fluids in an hour, please?"

He nodded to her before taking off again, this time towards the stairs, with Charlotte hot on his tail. Ruby waved at her best friend with a huge grin on her face.

"I'll call you later - we need to talk about this _stuff_ with Emma and Regina." Ruby told her with a sympathetic smile before following Charlotte and Henry up the metallic stairs. Snow watched lanky woman carrying the small child in her arms until she disappeared on the loft.

"That's why it wouldn't work," Snow started with her back to the fairy. "There are too many people around that know Henry's whereabouts all day every day, and the poor boy has been through far too much over the last year, Blue. Even if we took him somewhere and he had no possible inclination as to what we were doing, someone would see us and Regina would instantly know where we were."

The Blue Fairy tutted for a moment as Snow re-joined her at the table. "What if he wasn't with us, so to speak? We could organise a play-date of somewhat with some of the children under the fairies, if that would make you feel any better?"

"No." Snow bit. "No way is Henry having a play-date there. We found Emma in the basement there. Why on earth would I be willing to organise that?!"

Seeing the fear grow in Snow's eyes, and the defence in her body build up, Blue narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Do you really think that a child could have possibly done that to your daughter?" Her voice was slow and soft, trying her hardest not to sound too condescending. This time, Blue took to her feet and rounded the table to kneel in front of Snow. With a hand on Snow's knee, Blue began again, with a kinder tone to her voice. "None of those children under our watch are capable of doing such things. They are all wonderful children, and I know that you know that - you've met them. And believe it or not, we have more trouble from Charlotte and Amira than any other children in the house."

The magic emitting from Blue's hands engulfed Snow's legs, and the smell of peppermint filled the air. As the magic seeped into Snow's body, her eyes clouded over in the same shade of blue as the magic around her.

"I think it would be a really good idea if we organised this play date for Henry. He's safer with the children than he is with their own mother." The magic in the air dissipated and Snow raised an eyebrow in questioning. "You do realise that she killed the only man that was ever meant to be her true love, right?"

"But Daniel was Regina's true love, and Cora killed him." Snow looked at the fairy with a confusion that couldn't be resolved with a simple answer.

"No, Daniel was Regina's _first_ love. There's a huge difference between a true love and a first love. But Cora killed Regina's _first_ love. Then, when dear young Regina married your father, Tink wanted to redeem herself by showing Regina her _real_ true love." The Blue Fairy stood and retook her seat at the table, allowing this information to fully sink in with Snow.

"Tink took Regina to an old tavern in the Enchanted Forest, where her _True Love_ regularly met with his acquaintances, but Regina refused to go inside to meet the man and fled. A few years later, when Regina earned the title of the Evil Queen, she had a group of men arrested for theft in the kingdom. When she visited them in the dungeons, she spotted the tattooed man that Tink had insisted was her true love, and ordered his immediate death."

Much to the Blue Fairy's pleasure, Snow let out an almighty gasp.

*#*#*#*

"The gnat knows."

"What?" Emma asked, looking completely baffled as she pulled Amira onto her lap. "Who knows what, Regina?"

The brunette huffed as if she had been talking about the most obvious thing in the world. "The _grand_ old Mother Superior knows what happened to you and she's clearly here to schmooze your mother into believing that she, or her minions, had nothing to do with it. Why else would she just so happen to be here? How many times have you actually seen her visit your mother for the sake of just _popping in_?"

"She never visits," Henry contributed. "Grandma is always complaining about how she never sees her unless she wants something."

"She wasn't too pleased to have seen Amira and me when we got here either." Charlotte looked to her feet, feeling terrible that this conversation had been raised.

Regina hummed at the two children before her. "Did she say anything to the two of you?"

"Nope, she just asked Charlotte why she and Amira were here without an adult from the convent."

Regina nodded in understanding. Charlotte shouldn't _really_ have been leaving the convent without the approval of the Blue Fairy, but Regina was more than willing to face those consequences for the girl. Her heart longed for the safety and company of the two girls, almost as much as she did for Henry, from the moment she met them on her search for Emma.

_**'** **We need your father to interview her, Emma. It's the only way we're going to be able to figure out who did this to you and why they did it, and she's going to be the only one in town who knows anything about it.'** _

_**'But why do you think she knows anything about it?'** _

"Just think about this, why would she approach your mother as soon as she learnt about us and the curse?" Regina pondered to the blonde beside her, feeling like their silent conversation and staring competition would be slightly awkward for Charlotte and Henry to sit through. They knew what was happening around them, and her son had already pushed her away on multiple occasions for her inability to tell the boy the truth. "She has been the only person that knew about us breaking the curse outside of family; she has magic; _and_ she never even wanted us to entertain the idea of being together for a second. It only makes sense for her to be involved in all of this."

Everything made sense to Regina. For her entire life, the Blue Fairy had willingly gone out of her own way to ensure that Regina had an awful life. Blue had ensured that she was destined to become the Evil Queen. She had refused to help her keep Daniel; she had refused to help her with magic before Rumple's offer; she had even refused to help her when she wanted nothing more than to end her miserable existence. Instead, all the Blue Fairy could offer her was a dysfunctional fairy that had her magic taken from her, and a pathetic apology.

Why would the Blue _gnat_ choose to stop trying to ruin Regina's life now?

"And you think that she needs to be interviewed about her involvement in all of this?" Emma gestured to her aching body as she attempted to pull herself up into a more comfortable seated position.

"It would make sense to," Charlotte added, allowing herself to sit next to Henry on his mothers' bed. "I mean, Blue is really close with Hayden, and Sheriff, you were found in _his_ basement at the Children's Home, and so if you're going to find anything out, it would be from her."

Henry pulled a puzzled face at his mothers. "Why would someone kidnap you and hold you in the basement of the Children's Home? It doesn't make any sense, especially if the kidnapper is living there!"

Regina looked at her son, and really looked at him. Her tiny eleven-year-old was strategizing with her and his _birth mother_ on how they could really figure out who it was that kidnapped the blonde that they both loved. She hated how grown up he had become since the curse broke. It was like he was forced into becoming an adult before he had even experienced a proper childhood. The thought of how she had seriously impacted her son's youth by being reckless was like a solid kick in the teeth.

"You're right," Emma finally joined in, putting a halt in Regina's pity party. "If my dad and Ruby are going to figure all of this out, then they need to speak to her on police time. That way it will all remain official and on the documentation. Can you call him?"

Regina nodded and took her cell phone from the nightstand to dial in a number that she had learnt all too well when _Deputy_ Swan was on duty.

" _Storybrooke Sheriff's Station_ ," A husky voice replied into the earpiece of Regina's phone after a few short rings. " _Deputy Nolan speaking, how can I help?_ "

"David, its Regina. I think we're going to need to interview the Blue Fairy."

*#*#*#*

On the other side of town, Mr. Gold had been wandering through the back of his shop for hours, just skimming his fingers across the spines of old magic textbooks. He hummed songs from his youth in the Enchanted Forest, and occasionally added a leaf or a sprinkling of hair to a luminous purple potion hanging above an orange flame that he seemed to been working on. It drove Belle crazy when he was like this. It was like the real Rumple was drowning beneath the power of the Dark One.

The Dark One's presence was always there, but when Rumple refused to speak and the pacing started, Belle would always become paranoid about her love. There was a constant worry that he wouldn't be able to fight the darkness that constantly rose throughout his being.

"Rumple, you have to stop." Belle complained after watching him trace the lettering on the spine of one of Cora's old spell books for the fifteenth time in an hour. "This is ridiculous. If it's your magic that's overpowering your mind, do something useful and heal Emma and Regina."

The small man swiftly pulled his hand away from the spell book and hastily returned to the potion he was working on. He hovered over the bubbling purple liquid, deeply inhaling the fumes that floated above it in a cloud of white smoke.

"Perfect," he croaked for the first time in what Belle believed to be a seven hour record.

"What's _perfect_?" Belle quipped as she wandered over to the potion, glancing over Rumple's shoulder to watch his every move as he transferred his newest creation into a small vial.

He held the vial to the light from the open window in front of him. "This. Here you go, dearie. You wanted me to heal our Sheriff and Mayor; this will do it perfectly." He handed the vial over his shoulder to the young woman behind him.

"What do we do with it?"

Rumple inwardly rolled his eyes, feeling the Dark One's power overwhelming his heart and mind.

"Put it in their IV bags. Add five drops to the Sheriff's and four to the Mayor's. It will heal the Sheriff faster, and it will give Regina some of her magic back." He sauntered back to his stack of spell books. "There won't be enough for immediate recovery for the two of them, but once they prove their love for this curse to be reenacted, I'll create something else to return them back to their usual, annoying selves."

Belle tutted and followed her love as he paced. "Why can't you just create it now? Surely they've proved their love by now for you to stop playing this ridiculous game with the undead curse. Emma almost died for Regina, and how could you not see how distraught Regina was when she found out Emma had gone missing? The woman was heartbroken and hasn't left Emma's side since!"

Rumple stopped in his tracks when he felt Belle's gentle touch on his back. "Someone has cursed their love," he sighed, feeling the heavy weight of his normal self come crashing through his second persona. It felt as though his healed heart was reaching out to touch his love. "I don't know who, and I don't know why, but someone has cursed their love and every time I try to follow the magic of the curse, I get hit with something blue, and it slips away!"

Belle's hand wandered from Rumple's back and found his hand. "Rumple," she breathed through an inaudible gasp. "Something _blue_. Oh my goodness. The only person in town with blue magic... and magic strong enough to overpower yours in this world..."

Rumple snarled at the thought. "Oh, our Madame Mayor is going to love this one."


	22. Acting Sheriff

**CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO – Acting Sheriff**

It had taken one whole week for Emma and Regina's lives to turn upside down and rattle around in their own little universe before they were thrown on to the floor and left to pick up the pieces. Well, that's what it felt like for the two women and the people around them, anyway. They never would have thought that a Friday night-in would cause so much mess. But then again, they never would have thought they would be waking up next to one another in an actual bed, but here they were: rousing from a deep slumber comfortably wrapped in each other's arms.

Regina's arms had wrapped tightly around Emma's shoulders, while Emma's arms had snaked around Regina's tiny waist, and their legs entwined in a tangle. It looked like the single most uncomfortable position any two people could be in, yet the two women found themselves comfortable and content with their tight hold on each other. Emma even hummed graciously when she woke with her head on a specific perch of Regina's chest.

"I thought you were still supposed to have been one of those chivalrous Charmings," Regina's raspy voice echoed through her chest, ultimately sounding muffled under Emma's ear.

Emma chuckled and held Regina's waist tighter, almost as if to show off how much of her strength had returned to her through the power of rest (albeit and a little magic).

"My chivalry was cut out of me in a basement, I'm afraid. Now you're just going to have to put up with my incredibly forward signs of affection."

Although it was hidden to the blonde it was aimed at, Regina grinned, almost like the way a schoolgirl would when being told that her crush liked her in return. Emma's cheekiness made her heart skip a beat in her chest. Until now, she had never really paid too much attention to the rhythm of her heart, but Emma made it race and skip with joy. Her heart had become so full that she couldn't dare think about Emma's mentioning of the basement.

"I am surprisingly happy with that observation, Miss Swan."

Regina leaned down and kissed the top of a very blonde head. She could feel her body and her heart attempt to constrict with excitement from the ability of doing such a domestic thing with someone she believed she _never_ had a chance with. But it wasn't just having the chance to be with Emma. She didn't think she would ever even have the ability of having a domestic relationship with anyone ever again, so it being with Emma just made the whole thing a win-win situation for her.

"Regina?" Emma asked, interrupting her thoughts. Clearly the brunette had missed something Emma had been saying to her.

"What? Sorry, dear, I must have missed that completely."

Emma let go of Regina's waist and shuffled herself up the bed to bring herself face-to-face with the other woman. "I said, when you were too busy thinking about god knows what, we should probably have our IV drips today, since my mom completely forgot about us last night."

"You're totally right. There is more colour in your face this morning, but you still aren't looking too much like your usual self." She allowed her thumb to glide over Emma's pink cheek, taking in how beautiful she was. "You do seem to have a lot more energy than you did yesterday too."

Emma laughed and placed a gentle kiss in Regina's palm as it lay on her cheek.

"I can actually feel my blood in my veins today." The blonde tried to smile at that one, but couldn't find the optimism in herself to do so. "I'm not entirely sure if my head is in the right place, though."

Regina cupped the blonde's chin in her hands. "You're not going to feel like your usual self for a long while, Emma. What you went through was horrific and no one should have to experience the thoughts and images that are bound to be traveling through your head all of the time. Once this is all over, I think you should have a few sessions with Archie, just so you can let all of this off of your chest; especially with the things you don't want to tell me about."

Emma hummed and tried to blink away the tears that had pooled in her eyes. She didn't want to look at Regina either, but the strength of the other woman's grip on her chin was too much for her to fight. She couldn't have Regina see how weak she still was inside her head.

"Emma, please don't think I don't know what you're going through, because I do." She started, regaining Emma's interest and focus on her own emotional eyes. "Before Neverland – with those idiots, Greg and Tamara. They put me through the mill. They may not have physically wounded me in the way that you had been, or used magic to initiate hallucinations, but instead they stuck needles in my arms and legs that triggered lucid hallucinations while giving me electrotherapy."

The brunette paused for a moment to think about how much of her own abduction she ought to tell the blonde. She had been through enough in the last few days to last a lifetime, but Emma needed to know some of it. She needed to know that Regina understood.

"The hallucinations took me back through time; I saw my life with Daniel before he was killed, then revisited the funeral of Snow's father, then the death of my own father, before it all when wrong in telling the story of my life. They showed me a life with you – a life I've only had in my dreams and imagination – until the hallucinations of happiness stopped. That's when you and Henry were taken from me. Taken from this world."

She took a deep, breathy sigh and averted her eyes from Emma's. With everything that had happened in the time between her own capture to the present day, Regina hadn't even allowed herself to think about what had happened. It was something of the past and she knew not to dwell on it, but the closer she and Emma were becoming, the more she thought about it. She had been visited by far too many nightmares which accounted her to losing Henry, and she had learned to fight through them, and this one was the same. But when it came to Emma, she was new. She was something she was still learning to enjoy.

"Regina…" Emma breathed, gripping the brunette's wrists in place where she held her face. "Why didn't you tell me this before? Why didn't you even tell me this in Neverland? We had so much time to talk; you just ignored me.

"Can you really not imagine why I ignored you, Saviour?"

"Well, excuse me for thinking that you still hated me. Could you imagine how easier life would have been if you showed a little compassion when we were on the island? I have no doubt that I would never have kissed Hook out of my fury with you. I only did it to get at you. I was literally trying to torment you."

Regina's hands went limp on Emma's face after she had attempted to pull herself out of Emma's grip. "Of course, that was incredibly mature of you." Regina snarled. "And you're asking _me_ why I didn't talk to _you_. Maybe, if you think about it, I assumed that you were just too interested in spending time with your dear _boyfriend_."

" _Really_? You want to stoop that low?" Emma tutted and paused to think of how she could argue any more without offending or upsetting the brunette too much. Before now she hadn't cared about upsetting her, because she knew that she would never be around to experience the backlash, but with no escape this time, Emma knew she had to curb her tongue. "Look, Regina. We were both a little ignorant to this _game_. I had no idea what had happened to you at the Docks, and you had no idea what I thought of you – we're both as bad as each other."

Regina groaned. She knew Emma was right; they were idiots who had spent far too much time making each other pent up and frustrated instead of making the most of their time and expressing their feelings.

"Hello," A small Australian accent whispered as the bedroom door opened, revealing a very timid Belle. "I'm sorry to interrupt, both."

Regina cleared her throat and finally pulled her hands out of Emma's grip to sit herself up in the bed to speak to their visitor. "Not a problem, Miss French. Please, come in."

"Rumple sent me over to see the two of you." She told them, as she rummaged in her pocket to pull out a small potion vial with purple liquid sloshing around in it. "He had been working on this potion all day yesterday. Apparently it will speed up your healing time, Emma, and it should restore some of your magic, Regina."

Both Emma and Regina perked up at the sound of finally being able to get out of the bed they had essentially been imprisoned in for a few days. They needed to actually get up and work off their pent up energy, rather than trying to take it out on one another.

"Snow has said that I can give you both your IVs because this has to go directly into your bloodstream for it to work effectively. Rumple suggested that it should go directly into your IV bags." Belle began rummaging through a large bag of medical supplies that Snow had brought home to the apartment when they returned from the hospital. "I'm actually a lot more experienced than Snow is at adding an IV catheter to your hands, so it will probably hurt a lot less than the ones she had in your elbows."

Regina nodded as Emma found the strength she had recovered to prop herself up against the headboard. Just the thought of going through a little less pain than they had already been through was more than appealing. Belle took Regina's hand in her latex covered one and began preparing the delicate skin for the needle insertion.

"Thank you for doing this, Belle. It means a lot knowing that there are a few people on our side." Regina said as she became mesmerised in watching the small woman effortlessly glide the gauged needle into the prominent vein in her hand. "I'm also just as grateful that you don't just stab the damned thing into my skin the way Snow does."

Belle blushed, but she could see the bruises from the other central lines in Regina's elbows and understood that the woman was actually being serious. Before connecting the catheter with the IV bag, she added four precise drops of the purple potion to the fluid bag and hung it onto the metal stand at Regina's bedside.

"Rumple is never going to let us live this down," Emma muttered, as she watched the dainty _former_ princess mimic the same procedure on her as she had done on Regina. The only difference, Emma noticed, was the number of drops that had been added to her IV. She had been given at least one drop more than her brunette counterpart.

"He wanted to do this for you. He wants the best for the two of you." Belle finished connecting Emma's IV catheter to the bag of fluid before sitting on the chair at her bedside. "That's why he's heading to the station to see David and Ruby this morning."

*#*#*#*

Charming sat at his desk in the Sheriff's station, contemplating who to call first: Mr. Gold or Mother Superior. Both were people he wasn't entirely happy to be working with, but he knew that in order to get justice for what happened to his daughter, he _had_ to get the both of them involved.

"Just call Gold, _then_ we'll call Mother Superior." Ruby said, already feeling bored after being in the station just forty-five minutes. She threw Emma's rubber band ball at the breeze block walls surrounding them and groaned. "He's the one on our side. He might be the most irritating imp in the history of the world, according to Regina, but he's still the one that's going to defend you in that room. And really, when it comes down to it, having Gold on your side makes you safer than anyone in Storybrooke. And besides, you're only asking him to bind Blue's magic and sit in on our interview with her. He'd probably enjoy seeing her without her magic, anyway."

"You're right," he muttered, nodding and picking up his desk phone to dial the number to Gold's shop. The dial tone rang a little longer than he had hoped, but once it stopped and he heard Gold's gruff ' _Hello_ ', David perked up and stepped into his role as acting Sheriff. "Mr. Gold, this is Deputy Nolan."

" _I know who it is, dearie. I was waiting for your phone call, actually."_ Charming could hear his smug grin through the line.

"Gold, we need you to come to the station when we interview the Blue Fairy this morning. We need someone with magic to be present, just in case she tries to play any games with us." His stern voice made Ruby spin around in her chair to face him with raised eyebrows.

" _It's good to see that we're all on the same page for once. I will be there in ten minutes, your highness."_ Before David could say another thing, the Dark One hung up their  
line.

"Well, I guess that was easy."

"I told you." Ruby grinned as she span around in her chair again to find the perfect spot on the wall to continue throwing the rubber band ball. "Blue's next, and put her on loudspeaker - I wanna hear if she's worried!"

David rolled his eyes and dialed the number to the convent before pressing the loudspeaker button to appease his deputy.

" _Storybrooke Nunnery and Children's Home, Sister Astrid,"_ there was a pause and a loud giggle before the answering voice continued again. " _Or Nova speaking! How can I help you?"_

"Hi Nova, this is Deputy Nolan." David began with as much confidence as he could muster. "Could I speak to Mother Superior please?"

" _Oh, sure_!" Her peppy voice replied happily before she shouted through the line, " _BLUE! CHARMING IS ON THE PHONE FOR YOU. She's on her way, Deputy_."

Ruby stifled a laugh in the corner of the room as David 'mhm'ed her. They heard whispers through the line and the sound of muffled voices before the sound of the phone being handed over crackled on the loudspeaker.

"Deputy Nolan, this is Mother Superior." Her voice always irritated David. She always sounded like she was trying too hard to sound happy, and cheerful, and kind, and every other thing that most people knew she wasn't.

"Blue, do you think you could come into the station this morning? As part of our investigation behind Emma's kidnapping we're talking to everyone in the vicinity of where we found her, and of course, as she was found on an area under your supervision, you're the first person on our list to talk to."

" _Can we not do this over the telephone, Deputy? As you know, I'm a very busy woman_."

"I'm afraid not, Blue. This is going on official documentation as a witness and suspect statement, so it has to be done in the station under proper circumstances. I expect to see you here as soon as possible."

Without waiting for a reply or confirmation of her attendance, David pressed a single button on the telephone and ended the call. He knew she would arrive at some point in the morning. She was too nosey not to want to be involved with the investigation, whether Emma's kidnapping had anything to do with her or not.

"Nicely done, Deputy," A voice drawled from corridor leading to the office space of the station. "I'm sure the Sheriff would be proud of her dear father."

Charming looked up as Mr. Gold waddled his way towards his desk.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice."

"Actually, dearie, when you called, you took the words right out of my mouth."

Charming raised a questioning eyebrow, recalling that Gold had already mentioned that he had been awaiting his call. "Belle and I had been discussing a potion that I had conjured for your daughter and Mayor Mills last night, when I divulged in telling her of my research towards reinstating the curse of the undead. It was all theoretical, of course, but I'm slightly concerned, and I believe that you have the right to be too."

Ruby rolled her eyes and swung her chair around to face Charming and Gold. "Cut the shit, Rumple. What did you find out?"

"Thank you for that incredibly eloquent addition to this conversation, Miss Lucas." He sighed and fought the urge to turn his back on the young woman. "What I was trying to say before I was interrupted, Charming, is that your daughter and Regina's love has been cursed."

Refusing to put up with any more sweeping statements from the Dark One, Ruby let out an almighty sigh and stomped over to Charming's desk. With disgusted eyes, she looked the _imp_ up and down before choosing to argue. "So what you're telling us, is that Emma and Regina are being cursed for an eternity _again_ just because someone isn't all that welcoming of a little bit of _lady loving_?"

"Not that I would put it in those terms, but yes, dearie, Emma and Regina have been cursed, once again."

"I'm calling Regina." Ruby insisted, as she pulled out her cell phone and searched for the mayor's contact details. As the call rang, Ruby hit the loudspeaker button for everyone to hear.

" _Hello, Miss Lucas,_ " Regina's usually deep, raspy voice came out nothing short of a whisper through the line. " _Do you have our little winged friend in custardy yet?_ "

"Not yet, we have a few things we need to talk to you and Emma about first." Ruby said before Charming could interrupt.

" _Miss Swan is resting at the moment, so it is just me._ "

"Rumple, you're up." She handed him her cell phone to hold and sat on the corner of Charming's desk, trying her damned hardest not to bite her nails in the anticipation of Regina's almighty wrath.

"Hello, dearie," Rumple started. Ruby and Charming could swear they heard Regina's eyes roll in her head. "I just wanted to congratulate you before we begin. You seemed to have proved your worth tenfold in the true love department."

" _What the hell are you talking about, Rumple?_ " Regina hissed through the line.

"You and Miss Swan have generated enough true love in the last week to remove our undead friends multiple times, but-"

" _Then why on earth are they still in my front yard? You told us that you would reverse the curse as soon as we showed an act of true love._ "

Rumple tutted at Regina's whispered outburst. "Why is everyone so incessant that they interrupt me this morning? If you had just a moment for me to finish, Your Majesty, you would currently understand that there has been a curse held over your relationship with the Sheriff."

Regina's only defence mechanism of sarcasm kicked into full force. " _Oh, wonderful. Miss Swan and I have been cursed once again – it's like as if history is repeating itself. What is it this time, Rumple? Will one of us begin to lose limbs the longer we spend time together, or will it just combust and kill one us whenever it feels like? Oh, wait, I'm sure I've heard all of this before…"_

"Why must you be so ridiculous, dearie?" Rumple handed Ruby her cell phone again, showing all signs of resentment towards the woman on the other end of the line.

"Regina, I think what he is trying to say is that he couldn't fix the undead curse because it's connected to your true love with Emma, and there's another curse connected to your true love connection. He just has to break this second curse before he can touch his own. If he breaks the other one, you and Emma will finally get your happy endings. The only problem is; we have to find the person who cast the curse to break it."

" _I see. God, I wish the people in this town were a little more inventive."_ Regina muttered down the line. " _I'm assuming you've got some inclination as to the creator of this curse, Rumple. Otherwise I'm sure I wouldn't be having this conversation with you all until you were in the presence of the Blue Fairy._ "

The sound of someone clearing their throat halted Rumple from informing Regina of his recent understandings, while he and the two deputies' heads shot towards the sound.

"You called?" The Blue Fairy almost sang.

"And _that_ would be my inclination," Rumple said through his masochistic giggle.

*#*#*#*

Reluctantly, the Blue Fairy was guided into one of the interview rooms and was sat behind the table by Deputy Lucas. The fairy had been more than happy to have a casual conversation about the situation in the comfort of a more public place, like Granny's or her Convent, but much to her dismay, acting Sheriff, Deputy Nolan had become a stickler for abiding by his daughter's rules.

Ruby dismissed herself once the fairy was comfortable facing the two way mirror.

"So, now what do we do?" Ruby asked as Charming collected his notepad full of questions, the Sheriff's tape recorder, and Ruby's cell phone with Regina still on the other end.

" _Now you watch her squirm._ " Regina's sadistic smirk could be heard through the phone, much like her audible eye roll while talking to Rumple. " _Or you're just going to have to question her until she breaks and tells us everything we need to know."_

Charming handed Ruby her cell once more and stormed into the interview room like he had suddenly become more than professional. With Ruby and Rumple following behind, Regina just hoped that the three of them would get some answers.

Once the tape recorder had been set up and the Blue Fairy confirmed her name and the date, the acting sheriff began his line of questioning.

"Please confirm your whereabouts on Sunday night, between 11pm to 1am."

"I was in the church of the Convent performing a midnight mass."

"Can anyone confirm that?" Ruby asked, knowing that all the good cops in the police dramas on TV asked that question.

"The _entire_ nunnery can confirm that, Deputy Lucas." The fairy snarled.

Charming glanced down at his notepad to find what to ask next, when Regina's voice came through the telephone again.

" _Is it true that you are the head guardian for the children in the Storybrooke Children's Home?_ "

"Is she even allowed to be questioning me through the phone?" Blue questioned. "And she isn't even present; surely that's illegal."

"She's the Mayor, she can do what she pleases. Now answer the question." Charming leaned forward in his chair, using his elbows on the table for support. "Are you, or are you not the head guardian for the children in the Storybrooke Children's Home?"

"Yes, I am the head guardian for the children."

Charming scribbled in his notepad, making note of Blue's every movement and reaction to her two first questions.

"With your permission, dearie, I would like to bind your magic. It is just a precaution, since none of us are immune to your mind tricks." Rumple approached the table from his shadowed spot in the corner of the room once he heard Regina begin to ask a follow-up question.

The Blue Fairy looked at the Dark One like she was prepared to go into battle with him on the spot.

"Refusal means your immediate arrest on suspicion of the abduction and torture of Sheriff Emma Swan. Either way, your magic will be bound to prevent any attacks." Ruby informed her, feeling like it was the right thing to say, even if she had nothing to defend herself on such a statement. "Your agreement to do so will just mean that we won't have to enforce it."

Blue rolled her eyes and raised her hands in surrender. "I give you my permission to bind my magic for the period of this interview."

Rumple grinned and approached the fairy's side to press his index and middle fingers against the woman's soft spot on the side of her head. The dusty, pale blue magic that seeped from the fairy's head formed into a sphere that floated above the palm of Rumple's hand.

"This will be returned to you when you leave the station." He guided the magical sphere into his darkened corner of the interview room, where he planned to remain for the rest of the interview.

"Thank you, Mr. Gold. Now, if we could please return to our questioning." Charming watched her every move, noting down in tally marks every time the fairy glanced over to her magic sphere. "So, I am assuming that you are fully aware of the entry to the basement from the kitchen area. Would I be correct to do so?"

She nodded before realising she needed to verbally confirm everything for the recorder. "Yes. As I am sure you know, it is usually kept under lock and key out of precaution that one of the children found their way down there."

Ruby touched Charming's arm as if to inform him of her question that came to mind. "And do you have the key to the basement, or do you have _access_ to what is down there?"

"I don't have the key, nor do I have access to the basement in its entirety." She chewed on her bottom lip as she watched the two deputies look at one another in silent conversation.

" _Who does have a key and unlimited access to the basement?_ " Regina's voice echoed from the small cell phone, reminding everyone in the room that she was still listening.

"That would be the groundskeeper for the Convent and the Children's Home." Ruby and Charming raised their eyebrows at the woman, expecting further explanation as to who her groundskeeper was. "The groundskeeper was employed by Nova. It's one of the dwarves – Grumpy or _Leroy_."

"Unfortunately, that doesn't correlate with the information we have already been given by one of our witnesses. We were informed during our search that one of the young men under your care, Hayden, is the only person to have a key and access to the basement. We were told that it was his space and in the time between Emma's rescue and the present day, we have information to believe that Hayden had been back and forth the basement in the Children's Home." Charming informed the fairy, gaining himself an approved scoff through the cell phone line. "We were even given confirmation by the young man himself that he had sole access to the basement to grow _vegetables_ for yourself."

"Why would I request him to grow vegetables in the _basement_?" Her attitude and irritability was apparent now. "That seems rather counterproductive, does it not? And no, none of the children have access to the basement, not even our oldest two. Hayden is our in-house handyman, and Charlotte busies herself in the kitchen doing goodness knows what. She is the only one in the house that spends time near the basement entrance, so surely you should be questioning her about it."

" _Charlotte has already been questioned by myself. The child does not require a formal police interview because she is underage and technically without a legal guardian to look to for approval._ " Came Regina's voice once more, making Ruby look at the phone with a puzzled look on her face.

" _I_ am her legal guardian." Blue argued, becoming more and more irate. "How would you even know about her legal guardianship anyway, Madam Mayor?"

" _I think you just answered your own question, Mother Superior. I am the Mayor. I have a right to know everything, and as my secretary informed me this morning, you don't have any legal rights to the guardianship of the children in your apparent care._ "

The Blue Fairy was stunned silent. For over twenty-eight years she had cared for a group of over thirty children from almost every realm imaginable that she assumed were legally under her guardianship when the curse was created. She had even taken in most of the lost boys that came over when the Charming gang returned from Neverland,assuming that they would just automatically be registered at the home, they would instantly fall under her legal guardianship.

"That is ridiculous. The Children's Home is under my hand and my care. Surely your curse would have legally put them under my guardianship?"

" _It appears that that's not the case. And I didn't write the curse, my dear, I simply enacted it._ "

Charming cleared his throat to interrupt their rather uncomfortable pissing contest. "We aren't here to argue guardianship laws – but we will have to address that at some point." He paused to make a note to himself in his little notepad. "But Regina is correct; Charlotte has already been questioned, and my deputy and I don't deem it fit to question her again. On the date and time in questioning, Charlotte was settling a restless child in the Home. There is security camera footage from the  
corridors of Children's Home that comes directly to the station, and from our research, Charlotte was not lying about her whereabouts on Sunday night. She also has her magical abilities to exclude her from suspicion – she was born in the Enchanted Forest and her magic was never exposed to the Orientalis rift like our kidnapper had been."

"But, what we don't have is footage from anywhere else in the building. It's just the residential side, so we are relying on you to help us with that." Ruby explained, leaning back in her chair with her arms folded across her chest. She felt like she was building herself into one of those cops on TV with the bad attitudes towards everything. When Emma offered her the job to work occasionally for the Sheriff's Station, all she could think about was becoming a TV drama-styled cop that dealt with homicides and exciting car chases. "So, do you wanna start telling us the truth? Who has a key to the basement?"

"Like I have already said: Leroy has a key to the basement, and that is that."

Charming nodded and scribbled in his notepad again before flipping it over so as no one around the table could read what he was writing down.

"Off the topic of the basement, and more towards the reason why Mr. Gold is here with us today, I want to discuss with you your reasoning for your involvement of Sheriff Swan's true love allegations." Charming paused long enough to hear a rustle come from the other end of the cell call. He knew Regina was bursting to know why the Blue Fairy had been involved in all of this, but he had to be careful with what he said. "On the day before Emma went missing, you were present at 108 Mifflin Street and performing magic regarding a true love connection. Why?"

The Blue Fairy sat up straighter in her seat. "I was there on request by Snow. She wanted accurate confirmation of her daughter's true love, but the spell didn't work. It gave us inaccurate information."

The entire room heard a very loud sigh from the cell phone on the table. Everyone knew that Regina was trying to keep a cool head and not argue with the fairy, but it almost felt impossible for the brunette, who was also trying to remain as quiet as she possibly could so to not wake the sleeping blonde at her side.

"Why do you believe that the information was inaccurate? Was it not proven last week that the connection between Emma and Regina was in fact true love? A curse was broken because of it."

"That's ridiculous. The curse was set up to break when they came to a mutual agreement or became _friends_." The Blue Fairy sighed. "The information is inaccurate, Charming, because the love that Emma and Regina share is that of mutual respect, appreciation, and understanding, not of any physical attraction."

" _Oh, that is ridiculous. You do understand, don't you, that love consists of so much more than a physical attraction?"_ Regina tutted in her hushed voice. " _And much to your disbelief, there is actually plenty of physical attraction between myself and Miss Swan._ "

David cringed at hearing Regina confess her attraction for his daughter. He knew that Emma and Regina really did share true love between the two of them, but he didn't need to know the ins-and-outs of how they were both feeling about it.

"Well, if the Sheriff doesn't wish to heed my precaution, then that is her own choice. But that will lead to her to lose her family's Fairy Godmother as I would not wish to be a part of that family any longer."

"So, what you're saying is that you would not support any possible future between Emma and Regina?" Ruby said, mimicking David's slouched position on the table in front of her.

"That is correct, yes."

Charming leaned over his notepad, writing the word ' _Motive_ ' in thick capital letters, and enhancing it with a huge circle around it. He flipped the notepad back over.

"Have you since used any magic regarding Snow?" This time he leaned across the table to get a closer look at the thoughts swimming through the fairy's eyes.

"No."

"Have you since used any magic regarding Emma and Regina?"

"No." Her eyes flickered.

"I'm afraid I have to counter argue that one, dearie." Rumple emerged from the shadows once more to lean over the table. "I have been working with the Sheriff and Madam Mayor to rid ourselves of our current _undead_ issue. However, in order to ensure that the curse is enacted, I need a clear access to the magic in the true love that they share, but for some reason, a blue like magic, much like this here," he manoeuvred the sphere of magic as if to pass it back and forth between his hands, "has blocked my magic from passing through. You wouldn't happen to have any idea why that is, would you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Rumple." The Blue Fairy dismissed his allegations and looked back to the two deputies interviewing her.

"Oh, but I think you do." He threw the sphere slightly, allowing it to catch itself higher in the air and hover. "You see, our dear Snow White seems to be having a few personality issues and it is more than slightly confusing for her; and we're concerned."

Blue raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Until discussing her daughter's situation with yourself, it is apparent that Snow wasn't particularly happy with Emma and Regina's union, _per say_ , but she was willing to come around to the idea. But, after she spoke to yourself, however, any possibility of accepting Emma and Regina's love was blown out of the water. That's a little suspicious, don't you think?"

"No, not at all. Maybe she is seeing what everyone else who knows about it is seeing. Maybe she just had a sudden realisation of who Regina really _is_ and who her daughter is falling for."

" _And who exactly am I, Blue?_ " Regina's voice had become a stern hiss.

"You are still the Evil Queen, Regina, no matter how many times you insist that you have changed. People don't change."

David cleared his throat for the final time. "Okay, I think we're done here for this morning." He flipped his notebook shut and run his fingers through his hair. This was all too much for his head to even begin contemplating. He didn't want to think about the possibility of his wife being cursed now too. "We're going to have to keep you in a holding cell, I'm afraid. You are still a prime suspect in this investigation, and we can't have you running around and tampering with our evidence. Ruby will read you your rights."

He looked at Ruby, who nodded to her superior and stood to lift the fairy from her seat.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you if you so wish. These are your rights and you are free to enforce them until you are called for questioning again. Do you understand?"

The dainty fairy-nun glared with all her might at the former wolf as she was pulled by her upper arm towards one of the empty holding cells. It was only once Ruby guided her inside and locked the cell door did she realise what was happening. She hadn't even managed to talk her way out of something that she didn't actually do this time. Sure, she was withholding information from the _police_ , but she hadn't _actually_ done what she was being accused of doing.

Knowing that there was no possible way she could argue her case any further from being in the cell without her magic, she resigned herself to the rickety cot against the wall and sat staring directly towards the Sheriff's office.

*#*#*#*

"So, what are you thinking, Regina?" Charming asked, once Ruby had guided the Blue Fairy out of the interview room.

" _I think- I know she is withholding information._ " Regina sighed on the other end of the line. It was almost as if Charming knew she was rubbing her forehead out of frustration. " _It looks like you're going to have to interview Hayden, and complete an investigation of the basement. Have you had chance to cordon it off and make it an official crime scene?"_

This time, it was Charming who was rubbing his head in frustration. "No. Between you and Emma in the hospital and even organising these interviews today, I hadn't even thought about it, Regina."

" _Hm, okay. I have an idea. If Rumple still has Blue's magic bound, then you should be safe to leave her in the cell while the three of you head over to the Convent and Children's Home. Ruby can create the crime scene officials while you summon Hayden to the station for questioning. Arrest him and read him his rights if you have to, but get him to the station. Rumple will just have to put a protection spell around the basement to make sure that it hasn't been tampered with any more. You should still be able to lift a few fingerprints, even if these scene has been tampered with._ "

"Okay," He sighed and Regina could hear in his voice how tired he was. Everyone was so exhausted with everything that had been going on. They hadn't even had the chance to relax after Neverland. "Is there anything else I can do while I'm there? Do you need me to check up on the girls? I can bring them to the station if that would make you feel more comfortable knowing their whereabouts?"

Regina smiled on the other end of the call enough for Charming to hear it in her voice. " _Can you just make sure they're okay? They're coming for dinner this evening, and Emma and I are going to discuss their placement with a family so we know that they're going to be safe and happy_."

Charming smiled to himself, matching the one he knew Regina was still holding. "You know, Regina, you've got a huge house, and Henry only lives part time with you…" His suggestion was empty, but Regina knew what he was trying to say.

" _There's someone else that I need to ask to live there before I mention it to the girls, Charming._ "


	23. Rising Suspects

**CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – Rising Suspects**

Charming rapped his knuckles against the wooden door to the convent, feeling more than confident with Ruby and Rumple standing behind him. When no-one came to answer them, he knocked again. This time, however, an out of breath fairy came running to their aid.

"Deputy Nolan," she all but squeaked in recognition. "Mother Superior isn't here at the moment, but is there anything I can help you with?"

He nodded and pulled out a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket. "I know where Mother Superior is. But I have a search warrant for the Convent and the Children's Home that will be in effect for the next week or until our investigation is complete."

"Oh. Of course. If there is anything that I can do to help, please let me know." The fairy said, in an obliging tone. She stepped out of the way of the door to allow the three entry to the building. When the three before her on the porch didn't accept her welcoming, she raised her eyebrows for an explanation.

"We're looking for Hayden. Do you know where he is?" Ruby tried not to sneer over Charming's shoulder, but her distaste for a guy she had never even met had gotten to the best of her. No snot nosed kid was going to harm her god-daughter again if she could help it.

The fairy paused for thought before nodding in realisation. "The last I heard, he was fighting with another one of the children at the Home. Nova was called to break them up not ten minutes ago."

Charming and Ruby shared worried glances before setting off in a sprint towards the Children's Home, leaving Rumple on the steps to thank the fairy-nun for her cooperation and hobble after them.

When Charming and Ruby finally reached the Children's Home and let themselves into the building, they could hear the commotion immediately. And it was coming from the kitchen.

Not ones to waste time thinking of the possibilities of what was going on, the acting Sheriff and his Deputy pushed their way through the children that had crowded around the doorway into the kitchen to watch the spectacle. That spectacle being Charlotte and Hayden's screaming match while Amira wailed in Nova's arms as the fairy-nun attempted to flit around them to stop their argument.

"How can you stand there and say that? How can you blatantly lie to my face?!" Charlotte screamed at the teenager in front of her, with her face glowing in the same shade of red that radiated from her cardigan. "I know exactly what you did!"

"Oh, grow up, Charlotte." Hayden snarled, taking a step towards the girl, so they were almost chest to chest. "Do everyone in this house a favour and quit being such a goodie-two-shoes little brat. No one actually wants you here – no one wants you anywhere, in fact. Why do you think you haven't been adopted yet?"

Before Charlotte could swing for him, Ruby found her feet to race across the kitchen and pull the young girl away from Hayden by her waist. She thrashed in Ruby's arms, screaming hate-filled remarks and curses at Hayden that the former wolf hadn't heard since she roamed the peasant country in the Enchanted Forest.

"She's a lunatic! She needs to be locked away in some mental asylum." Hayden said as he tried to prove his point and stand his ground in front of Charming. "No wonder Sheriff Swan came out the wrong side when she kidnapped her."

Charming didn't even think about his audience or his own reaction when he shoved the boy backwards into the huge refrigerator. He trapped the teenager between his forearm and the cold metal of the fridge as he watched the fear flicker in Hayden's eyes.

"What did you just say about my daughter?" He hissed.

"I said Charlotte did it!" Hayden practically squealed under the pressure of Charming's arm on his chest. "She took the saviour and tried to kill her!"

Charlotte continued to thrash in Ruby's arms as she screamed out against everything Hayden was saying. "He's lying, David! You know he is!"

The stand-in Sheriff attempted to block out every sound that came from Charlotte, the jeering children in the doorway and the pleas of innocence from Hayden, just so he could think for a second. He knew exactly who he suspected, he just didn't know why Charlotte had to taunt Hayden about it.

He pushed himself off of Hayden and paused for a moment, waiting for the consideration of running to flicker in the boy's eyes. But when Hayden remained where he was with no intention of moving, Charming just smiled and reached to his back pocket to pull out his Sheriff issued handcuffs.

"Hayden, you are being arrested on the suspicion of abduction and attempted manslaughter of Sheriff Emma Swan." Charming pulled Hayden's arm to turn him around to pull his arms behind his back. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

Ruby blanked out the rest of Charming's reading of Hayden's rights and let go of the young teen in her arms, who had finally calmed herself enough to catch her breath. She watched the girl as she panted and huffed. She even noticed the embarrassment that flooded her face and cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," She huffed when she finally regained her regular heartbeat and her breathing eased back to normality. "He scared me…"

Charlotte looked up to the older brunette, visibly trying her hardest not to sob in front of her. She bit her lip as it began to quiver and threaten to give her emotions away. Ruby refused to watch the scene and pulled the girl towards her, this time pulling her into a comforting embrace instead of a restricting hold. She held the girl's head to her chest and hushed her into a state of complete serenity.

"It's okay," Ruby whispered into Charlotte's dark, curly hair. "This is all going to be sorted soon and you're going to be safe and away from here."

Ruby held the teen for a while, hushing her and rubbing gentle circles into her back to calm her down. When Ruby noticed that her sobs and turned into hiccups she spoke to the teen again.

"Are you okay?"

With a huge sniff and a nod, Charlotte pulled away from Ruby's hold and tried to smile graciously, but she couldn't. She couldn't even possibly think why so many people had defended her and tried to protect her over the last few days. She had practically been welcomed into the Charmings' home and their lives, and now even their friends were welcoming her into their lives. In her entire life, Charlotte had never found herself wanted by anyone – except for Amira, but the child didn't really have much of a choice with whom she could cling onto, so surely she didn't count.

When Amira gurgled and giggled behind her, Charlotte quickly spun around and reached out for the child.

"S'arlotte!" The toddler squealed and practically threw herself at the teenager to snuggle herself into her side.

"Clear out, people!" Nova shouted to the rest of the children as soon as Amira was out of her arms, making herself known again. Her verbal attempt was futile, but once they saw that she was heading towards them, all of the children scattered to get on with whatever it was that they were supposed to be doing. The fairy flashed a guilty smile towards the two cops and scurried off with the rest of the children, much preferring to remain ignorant to whatever was going on.

Charming rolled his eyes at the sheer laziness of the fairy's attempt at regaining order among the children. He was more than disappointed with the lack of discipline within the running of the home. How on earth could Mother Superior and the rest of the mindless fairies even consider that allowing a nineteen-year-old to still live with the rest of the children? He was far too old to be living in a house full of orphaned children - especially when he was allowed to practically run the place. It was all too suspicious for him.

He shook off his train of thought, not willing to take on that extra bag of crazy as well, and pushed Hayden towards the doorway. Before he could push the teenager out of the kitchen, Rumple strolled in with an irritated look on his face.

"Well, dearies, that was quick." He smirked at the teenager in handcuffs. "What can I do?"

"This guy needs his magic bound and we have to magically seal the basement before we cordon it off. Can you deal with him first, so I can leave him in the cruiser?"

Rumple nodded and set out with his strong magical abilities.

*#*#*#*

Emma and Regina both flinched out of their naps when a cell phone on Regina's nightstand rang and vibrated. Neither woman was awake enough to even find the phone, let alone answer it and deal with the consequences of doing so.

"Hello?" Regina croaked when she finally managed to find and unlock her phone to answer the call.

"Hey, Regina, it's Ruby. We've had to bring Charlotte and Amira to the station." She started, already startling Regina. She had specifically told Charming not to remove them unless they weren't safe enough to remain there. This was definitely not good news.

"Are the girls okay?" She fretted.

"Yeah, they're fine. Charlotte and Hayden got into a little bit of a scuff. Charlotte's got a few little scratches on her arm, and she was seriously frustrated with him when we walked in on them, but she's fine." Ruby paused to see if Regina would question her about every single detail, but when nothing but a stunned silence came from the other line she continued. "We've brought them here because all the other kids couldn't take their eyes away, and Charming thought that you and Emma would want someone you could trust to keep a lookout for them. We're about to question Hayden and Snow is on her way over, so we're going to ask her to watch them for a while."

Regina practically growled at the sound of Emma's mother's name. The woman had caused nothing but pain and confusion over the last week (and for the majority of the time Regina had known her, but that was another story altogether). Regina couldn't cope with what Snow could possibly say to the girls while she was unaccompanied. She couldn't even cope with the fact that she had actually willingly allowed the girls to return nightly to the Children's Home. She knew that they weren't safe, but in her and Emma's physical states, she didn't know what else she could do.

"Rubes, we'll be at the station in, like, twenty minutes." Emma shouted down the phone as she pushed herself up in the bed, gaining herself a severe glare from the woman beside her. "Make sure my mom and Blue don't have a catch-up!"

She took the phone from Regina's hand and hung up, completely oblivious to the irritated look on the other woman's face.

"Miss Swan, you have been bed bound for the past three days, and now you're insisting that you're going to get to the other side of town in twenty-minutes. What the hell are you even thinking?" Regina asked as she too pushed herself up from the bed, overlooking how strong her legs and the rest of her body had become. "No, actually. I don't want to know what you're thinking. I want to know what you're doing. You can't possibly think that I'm going to let you run or even drive over there."

Emma wandered over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and pulled out a pair of her signature jeans and a white tank top to match. She pulled her nightshirt over her head and replaced it with her tank top before strenuously pulling on her ridiculously tight fitting skinny jeans.

"Then come with me." Emma smirked to the other woman as she pulled out a pair of her boots and her favourite red leather jacket (her tatted one, not her new one – for some reason she found that she had misplaced the damn thing – just after she had bought it too). She could feel her strength rise throughout her body and tingle in her fingertips. "I was expecting you to have been out of the door much before me, you know."

Regina looked puzzled at the other woman's sudden change in demeanour. A mere twelve hours ago, the blonde had been sobbing into her shoulder and groaning at the fact that she wasn't strong enough to even sit up in bed. And now, here they were, with Emma practically bouncing on the balls of her feet and raring to go.

"Emma, are you feeling alright?" The brunette tentatively walked towards the blonde, fearing that her legs would give out again, making her collapse into a heap on the floor. When they didn't, Regina couldn't even attempt to hide the utter befuddlement that plastered her face.

"I'm feeling fine," she laughed, more at Regina's cautious baby steps than anything else. She reached out and took Regina's hand in her own, just to steady her, Emma told herself. "And apparently so are you. Gold's potion must have done its job because I can't even feel those cuts on my back and stomach."

The brunette grimaced. She couldn't heal the woman she had caused so much damage to either; she had to rely on someone else to save her happy ending and how many times had she attempted that one to have it go horribly wrong? Regina squeezed her eyes tight. She didn't want to think about the fact that she was once again relying on Rumpelstiltskin to get her happy ending and save the people she had grown more than fond of.

She squeezed Emma's hand graciously and let go to hesitantly tiptoe across the room to her pile of clothes that Charming had picked out for her.

"Go for the blue silk shirt in my wardrobe and wear your slacks. That always looks good on you." Emma told her with a playfulness to her voice as she leaned heavily against the foot of her bed.

"Oh, yes, you're completely right. I forgot that half of my closet was already in yours." Emma sheepishly grinned at the other woman as she tried not to overthink Regina's use of the word 'already'. "And don't go assuming that you can boss me around for your own pleasure, Miss Swan. This union isn't going to work like that, I'm afraid to tell you."

Emma raised a challenging eyebrow that screamed 'you wanna bet?', but the brunette pretended as though she didn't see it.

Once Regina was dressed and they had both freshened up as well as they could, they took off towards the sidewalk with multiple sets of car keys in their hands in the hopes that there would be at least one car outside that matched up with their keys.

When David's rickety pick-up truck unlocked with a flash of headlights, Regina groaned. She couldn't bear to look at her true love to see the beaming smile on her face. She hated this car with every ounce of her being. It was even more dangerous than Emma's bug, and gods, she hated that thing too.

"Can I drive?" Regina asked. She almost hated herself to do so, because she detested the thought that someone would see her behind the wheel of such a horrific thing, she just understood that she had to do it for her and Emma's safety. "I've been a lot more lucid and reactive than you have over the last couple of days. It just worries me that this could be too much for you."

Emma wanted to sulk, but knew that Regina was probably right. She handed the brunette the keys to the truck and pulled herself into the passenger seat, trying her hardest to ignore the sharp shooting pain that crippled her stomach around her deepest laceration. She cringed as she made herself comfortable and prepared herself for the short ride downtown.

*#*#*#*

Charming sat Hayden behind the metal table in a much rougher manner than Ruby had done with the Blue Fairy. His magic had already been bound at the Children's Home and now it was locked away in the Sheriff's private office, so Charming was more than happy to be as rough as he deemed necessary.

Again, going through the same practices as he had done with Blue, he made sure Hayden confirmed his name and the date for the tape recorder, before leaving the room and locking it behind himself.

"Emma and Regina are on their way to deal with the girls." Ruby told him as she bounced the giggling toddler on her hip. "And Snow has just arrived. She's just making sure that the scratches on Charlotte's are just scratches and nothing to be concerned about."

Charming nodded. His words and brain failed him. In a week, he had watched his daughter realise her deepest feelings for a woman he had spent much of his adult life trying to destroy, then he found her hanging from the ceiling like a slab of meat in a slaughter house, before watching her heart stop and regain rhythm in the hands of the real-life Dr. Frankenstein. If he hadn't been so used to the craziness of Storybrooke and everything that came with it, Charming knew he probably would have been happy to jump directly into a portal to take him to a Netherworld with no escape.

Yet, here he still was as Storybrooke's stand-in Sheriff and about to do his second suspect interview of the day. He wouldn't have been surprised if his hair had started to fall out from the sheer stress of it all. The only thing that kept him on his feet was the thought of how Regina and Emma were handling all of this. True enough, Emma had been given pain relievers that had practically knocked her out for half of the week, but Regina was at the front and centre of it all and still fighting to remain above water.

Regina had been the one to fall for his daughter – the saviour – and had to watch as her second attempt at a happy ending was practically taunted in front of her before being ripped away, shredded a little and dumped back at her feet. Charming knew that Regina had literally been chewed up and spat back out with this situation. It made him question who really Storybrooke's saviour was.

"Are you okay, David?" Ruby asked in a calm and caring tone that he had never actually heard from the woman before. "You look a bit flustered."

"What?" She had pulled him directly out of his thoughts and reality slapped him in the face once more. "Sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

His Deputy chuckled solemnly and adjusted the toddler on her hip. "I could see that; it looked pretty painful."

"This entire week has been painful."

Ruby nodded. "Here, have a cuddle from this little angel. She'll calm any frustration you've got going on in that head of yours." She handed the toddler over the Charming, who couldn't help but smile at the huge squeeze he received from her. It almost made him want to imagine how Emma would have been at this age, but refused to divulge into that heartache and followed Ruby into the holding area of the station, where he found his wife cleaning the cuts on Charlotte's forearms.

"Ouch! That one hurts." Charlotte winced as Snow added drops of iodine to the deepest cut towards Charlotte's wrist.

Snow tutted in a motherly way that suggested that she was disappointed with whoever did this to the poor girl. Of course, they knew exactly who did it.

"How did this even happen?" The former school teacher asked as she wrapped gauze around the wounds that seemed to be bleeding more than they had done when they found the teenager fighting with Hayden.

"I… I don't know…" Charlotte started as she winced even more when Snow tightened the wrap on her arm. "I asked him if he was okay when he slammed the door of the basement and he ran at me. He grabbed my arms and threw me into the wall. His nails had dug into my skin when he grabbed me. I didn't start bleeding until we got here."

"That will, of course, be magic, dearie." Rumple said, reminding everyone his presence in the room. A single shot of magic flew through his hand and added a ripple against what Charming could see to be a barrier of magic around Blue's holding cell. The ultimate protection spell, he thought, nothing goes in, and nothing gets out. He had only asked for a simple silencing spell, but he supposed that this would do too. "We'll need to stop the bleeding before you start to feel too dizzy."

"I don't think it's magic," Charlotte insisted. "I've tried using my own magic to heal it, but nothing happened."

The former Dark One approached the girl and lay his hand on her gauzed arm. Anyone could see that the blood was still seeping through the wrap around it. He squeezed her forearm and allowed a clear cloud of smoke to engulf it. Within a blink of an eye the smoke dissipated and Rumple unravelled Snow's medical handiwork.

"You see? It was magic."

Charlotte looked at her arm in complete and utter confusion. "But if it was magic, why couldn't my magic do that?! I've done it plenty of times before..."

Before Rumple could provide the girl with any idea of a possible explanation, Regina sauntered into the station, holding Hayden by the scruff of his neck, while Emma sheepishly followed in tow.

"Misplaced something, Charming?" Regina rolled her eyes at the Prince's incompetence. "I thought it would just be common sense to bind his magic before you left him in the questioning room."

"But we did…" Charming insisted. "Gold took it from him before we put him in the cruiser. And I locked the door to the question room when I left him in there."

"His own abilities are locked away in a box in the Sheriff's office, but that's not to say he doesn't have someone else's." Rumple told her as he placed his hands on Charlotte's shoulders and looked at Regina. "I'm assuming that he extracted Charlotte's magic when he attacked her at the Children's Home. Its likely to be blood magic."

From Hayden's inability to move under her magical hold, Regina knew that he would smirk if he could have moved his mouth. When they arrived at the station, she could feel her magic bubbling in her fingertips. She needed an outlet, and when she spotted Hayden trying to make a run for it, she knew that she was being handed a perfect opportunity.

"Oh, wonderful." She sassed as she let the young adult loose of her grip and pushed him towards the centre of the room. "Rumple, if you would give Charlotte her magic back, please."

Rumple nodded and brought Hayden down to his knees in one swift movement of his wrist. And, for the third time in a day, he found himself performing magic that he had only performed a few times in the Enchanted Forest. He pressed his fingers to the side of Hayden's head and pulled Charlotte's magic into a dusty purple sphere into the palm of his hand. Once every ounce of magic had been pulled from Hayden's body, the teenager sagged on his knees, feeling the weight of magic leave his body.

The sphere of magic hovered above Rumple's hand as he guided it towards Charlotte. "When I hand this over to you, I need you to squeeze it tightly between your hands. The magic will turn into a gas and you're going to need to inhale it." Charlotte looked at Gold like he had gone insane, but nodded either way.

She took the sphere from Rumple's hands and followed his every instruction. When the sphere practically popped like a balloon in her hands, she took a deep breath and inhaled the fresh smells of coconut and vanilla as they swirled through her senses. The experience was dizzying and quite disorientating, making her sway on her seat. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head as she felt the magic pulse through her veins with her blood.

"Charlotte," Emma and Regina said in unison as they rushed to the young girl to hold her through the painful experience. Extraction was painless, but putting it back in was a whole different ball game – or at least, sphere game, as Emma saw it.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Regina asked, when Charlotte's body stopped shaking and convulsing in their arms.

"I think so…" She sighed with relief and gripped onto the two women that had engulfed her in the strongest hug she had ever been pulled into. "Thank you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Emma hushed as she held Charlotte's head between them. "We came to make sure you were okay, and you clearly aren't. Maybe we should take you home with us to get some rest and freedom from the Home."

Charlotte nodded but refused to let go. Here she felt safe; she felt warm; she felt loved for the very first time in her life by two complete strangers. She could feel Emma and Regina's hands clasp together behind her back and for a moment she thought of Henry. She thought of how amazingly fortunate he was to have two amazing women love and support him in his life, even though he was given up at the beginning of his life. This is what she had wanted her entire life - she just didn't want to jump to conclusions too quickly that her dreams would be fulfilled.

"Wait," Charming said, towards the huddle around Charlotte. "How are the two of you even well enough to be here? Emma, you were too exhausted yesterday to eat Granny's soup and the cookies Charlotte baked…"

Emma pulled her head out of the embrace, but didn't let go. "Rumple," she said simply. "Rumple sent Belle over with a healing potion for our IV's. It knocked me out unconscious immediately, but Regina held out through your questioning session with Blue, then she passed out too. But it worked. I have energy and strength, and Regina has most of her magic back."

"Don't get too excited, dearie." Rumple warned from her side with a grave look on his face. "That's a temporary fix. It's going to take a while for you to get back to your normal selves. You've even got another round of it to go through before you're in the clear for a little while."

Emma shrugged. "I don't care how long it takes, as long as we're all safe and we're not bedbound for months." She paused for a moment to look at what was unfolding in front of her and smiled. "There are some things I can't miss. So, thank you."

*#*#*#*

Once Emma and Regina left the station with Charlotte and Amira, Charming dragged Hayden from his knees and back into the questioning room. He dropped the teenager into the seat once more and sat directly opposite him with the hardest glare Charming had ever sported. He had asked Snow to remain at his desk and keep a close watch on the Blue Fairy, with specific instruction not to talk to her – not that she would hear much through the silencing barrier between the two of them.

Ruby took up her usual seat at Charming's side, and Rumple found his dark, cosy corner the best place to watch this turn of events. He swished his hand through the air and removed the silencing spell Regina had cast on the young man. Now it was his time to sit back, relax and just enjoy the show.

"Where were you on Sunday night between the hours of 11pm and 1am?" Charming asked as he remained staring at the teenager across the table.

"I was at the Home, comfortable in my own bed." Hayden told him in a matter-of-fact tone that taunted Charming into wanting to punch him square between the eyes. The Deputy had no actual evidence that Hayden had done the accused, but he couldn't help but hate every ounce of the guy's being.

"Can anyone vouch for that?" Ruby asked, this time being the one to take notes, knowing how very little David wrote down when questioning the Blue Fairy.

Hayden raised a flirtatious eyebrow and grinned at Ruby. "Why? Are you asking me if I'm sleeping with anyone, Deputy Lucas? I'm not, by the way, if you were wondering on a personal level."

"So, no. You don't have anyone that can vouch for your whereabouts on Sunday night." Ruby had given him a glare and an almighty kick underneath the table as she aggressively scribbled in the notepad.

"Is it true that you are the only person in the Children's Home that has access to the basement?" Charming ignored his previous jibe at Ruby, knowing that the woman was strong enough to handle male chauvinism on her own.

"I doubt I'm the only person with access, but yeah, I've got a key for it." Hayden shrugged.

"Mother Superior told us otherwise." Charming started as he leaned on the table towards Hayden. "According to her, the only person to have a key is Leroy because he's the grounds keeper. She seems to think that you have nothing to do with the basement."

"I'm sure he does have a key, but I've had one since I can remember. I didn't obtain it after the curse broke, if that's what you're trying to get from me."

"So, what's in the basement?"

"I don't know. I've never been down there."

"You have a key to the basement, but you've never been down there? Doesn't that seem a little…? I don't know, suspicious?" Ruby leaned across the table to match Charming and cradled the notepad in the crease of her elbow.

"Well, not really. I mean, we've got loads of space in the House for storage, so we've never needed the basement for that, then there's the fact that there's no actual electricity down there..."

"How would you know that if you've never been down there?"

"I don't know, I just do."

"But you've obviously unlocked the basement with the key, otherwise you wouldn't know what it unlocked, right?"

"Oh, sure. I've unlocked it just so see if it would open, but the idea of going down into that darkness wasn't exactly appealing to me." Hayden leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.

"What about Charlotte? She just told us that she saw you leaving the basement this morning."

Hayden laughed sadistically. "The kid is a psycho and a complete drama queen. She didn't see me leave the basement. She saw me coming in from the garden, not up from the basement."

Charming nodded his head and tapped his chin as if he needed time to think about his next question. He knew what he wanted to ask, he just wanted to see if the boy would eventually sweat.

"When we spoke to you at the convent for the first time on Tuesday, your hands were gloved because of some skin condition. Your hands have been bare since the moment we pulled you and Charlotte away from one another. There's not even a sign of eczema or any dermatological issue with the skin on your hands; why not?"

He huffed and placed his hands on the table in front of the two cops. "They bleed for no apparent reason when I'm doing heavy or physical work. There's nothing wrong with them otherwise."

"And the bleeding comes from no mark or scarring on your hands at all?"

"No, nothing."

Charming turned in his chair to glance over his shoulder at Rumple. "Do you know of any conditions like this in the Enchanted Forest, or any of the surrounding realms?"

"For his hands to have looked the way that did on Tuesday without any form of grazes or cuts, that wasn't an illness or medical condition. It's impossible. It would still need an output source." Rumple told them, feeling more than smug when he saw the flash of worry cloud Hayden's wide eyes. "I'm afraid, Charming, your suspect is lying and withholding information from the investigation."

"I thought the same," Charming said as he turned back in his chair to face Hayden with a questioning look. "So, do you want to enlighten us on what you were trying to hide on your hands on Tuesday?"

"Look, I don't actually know what it was, okay? Luca thinks he's funny by telling people that when I wear my gloves it's because I have a skin condition. I just thought that by playing along with it I could get away with you asking any more questions about them." He sighed and pulled his hands back under the table. "Would you have believed me if I had told you that this mysterious blood like substance appeared on my hands and I didn't know what it was?"

"Not exactly, no."

"You see?"

"But that doesn't mean that we believe you now." Charming told him, feeling more than slightly irritated about having to practically coerce an answer out of him. "When did the stuff on your hands appear?"

"Pff… I don't know, maybe Tuesday morning? It was there when I woke up on Tuesday, anyway."

"How did you manage to get it off your hands?" Ruby asked, feeling rather intrigued with his story.

"With soap and water, Deputy." He flashed her another flirtatious smile and a wink.

Charming whacked the table with the palm of his hand, feeling too tired for Hayden's games. "Enough." He pointed his thick index finger at the teenager in warning. "If you keep behaving like that towards Deputy Lucas, I'll have no choice but to arrest you on charges of sexual harassment."

The teenager held his hands in defeat and folded his arms back over his chest.

"If you used soap and water to clean them, how come you didn't do it as soon as you woke up? Why wait until that evening?"

He shrugged again. "I tried when I woke up, but it just wouldn't come off, so I wore the gloves all day."

Charming looked over to Ruby and nodded. She caught his eye and knew exactly what he meant. She scribbled a few words on her notepad; 'Ask kids bout H's gloves - all day? Jst tlkng 2 chrmngs?'.

"You just mentioned that Luca tells people you have a skin condition on your hands when you wear your gloves. How often do you actually wear them?"

"Every day during the winter." Hayden replied sarcastically, with a smug smile on his face. When he spotted how unimpressed Charming seemed, his face fell serious again. "They're the only thing I have from my life in our worlds. The Blue Fairy had them in her possession when the curse broke, so she returned them to me. I just like to wear them when I miss home."

Charming rolled his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure, but he was almost worried that was a dig at Regina for the curse. Again, this suspect had just given him a motive. The Blue Fairy's motive correlated with losing her position of fairy godmother to the Charmings should Emma choose Regina, and losing her influence on the town because the beloved Snow White was the only one that actually trusted her. Now, Hayden's main motive was to get back at Regina for casting the curse on the entire town. But Charming knew that these motives weren't strong enough to convict either of them of abduction or attempted manslaughter.

"When we met at the Children's Home, you told our wonderful Madam Mayor that your magical abilities were very minimal, but after today's little stunt, that isn't actually the case is it, dearie?" Rumple snarled. "Please, enlighten our acting Sheriff and his Deputy here on how powerful your magic actually is."

"Okay, I panicked when you took the Blue Fairy into questioning this morning. I knew you didn't like me from the minute you questioned me in the Children's Home, so I jumped to the conclusion that I would be the next person to be questioned because of all the questions you asked me before. I took Charlotte's magic because I knew that you would be searching for mine to take." He ruffled his thick hair in frustration. "I'm slightly skilled with magic. I had a few lessons from the fairies in the Enchanted Forest, but I wasn't exactly top of the class, so to speak."

"How do you fare when it comes to evaporation spells?" Rumple questioned, knowing how the other two wouldn't have a clue about magical abilities.

"I've had a go, once or twice. But I wouldn't say I'm particularly good at it."

Charming looked at Rumple as if to ask if he had any more questions on the boy's magic when Rumple motioned his head towards the door. "Can I have a word?"

The acting Sheriff stood and squeezed Ruby's shoulder in silent communication to stay put. He let himself out of the questioning room and waited for Rumple to join him in the corridor.

"What do you think?" The former Prince asked. He hadn't been able to put any of this information to use. He didn't know if he was asking the right questions or if he was and just completely missing the answers.

"To be able to perform blood magic in the way that he did is a talent in its own right." Rumple told him with a seriousness that could have concerned even the most careless man around. "I think he has more powers than he cares to admit to. And the yellow of his magic – I've seen it in Storybrooke before, but only in glimpses, that's why I questioned him on evaporation spells. I think he's lying to us about his capabilities. Whoever took Emma was strong enough to transport her from Regina's house to the basement without leaving any traces. That takes a lot of practice. And I've got a feeling that he's had more than a lot of practice."

Charming groaned. "Okay, so we're not going to get every bit of information out of him about his magic. Do you think we need to ask him about anything else?"

"You could always ask him about your daughter's situation. Everyone in this town has an opinion as to who the Saviour should be claiming as her love – why wouldn't he?"

Internally cringing, the acting Sheriff nodded and returned to the questioning room with Rumple immediately on his trail. He slumped down in his chair and looked at the teenager before him. He watched his every movement, from the movement of his eyes, to the rise and fall of his chest as his heart throbbed beneath his breastbone.

"I have one last question for you," Charming started, regaining both Hayden and Ruby's interests. "Everyone in this town seems to have some sort of opinion on the Saviour and her love life. What do you think?"

"Isn't that a little personal, Deputy?" Hayden inquired. He was dodging the question, and Charming wasn't entirely sure if he wanted hear another opinion on his daughter's love life, but he knew that this could be the answer they were looking for. "I just think, for Henry's sake, that his mother and father should be together. He would have a stable home and he wouldn't be subject to half as much danger as he has been in Regina's care. Besides, aren't our first loves always our true loves?"

Charming tapped the table and turned off the tape recorder.

"That's all we need for now, thank you, Hayden." He stood from the table and dropped his handcuffs in front of Ruby. "Put him in the cell beside his guardian, please, Ruby."


	24. Jekyll and Hyde

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - Jekyll and Hyde**

When Emma and Regina arrived back at the apartment with Amira and Charlotte, Regina couldn't help but find herself heading directly towards Snow's bathroom cabinet and pulling out an entire bottle of Advil. Her head pounded in synchronisation with her heart, only the pain pressed against her eyes, close to the point of dizziness, and didn't skip a beat when she laid her eyes on a particular blonde. She hadn't a clue where the headache had come from; all she knew was that she needed pain relief before she passed out on the floor.

She threw two of the pills to the back of her throat and swallowed them dry.

"Are you okay?" Came a voice from the bathroom door. Emma leaned on the off-white and flaked doorframe with a concerned look on her face.

"I'm fine." Her reaction was almost a snap, making Emma narrow her eyes at the other woman. "Please stop looking at me like I've been insubordinate, Miss Swan."

Emma chuckled sarcastically and folded her arms across her chest. "I just asked if you were okay, Regina. I was just looking for a plain and simple answer like: 'I rolled my ankle getting out of the car, so I grabbed some pain killers', or 'I've got a headache as a side effect from the potion and it's driving me _crazy'_. Either one would have been effective, but the latter would have been my chosen option for you, because then I'd let you know that it's not just _you_."

Regina's shoulders drooped dejectedly and she leaned heavily on the sink. "I can't deal with any of this stress anymore." She gave out a light laugh that almost seemed hysterical to the blonde, as she allowed her head to fall into her hands. "I might be getting too old for all of this."

With a shake of her head and her arms reached out, Emma crossed the bathroom to the sink and pulled Regina against her body. It was a tired embrace, but Emma found herself internally grinning at the fact that Regina hadn't even attempted to refuse it. Instead the brunette had snaked her arms around Emma's waist and allowed her head to fall into the curve of the blonde's pale neck. She inhaled deeply, allowing her senses to become aroused by the smell of the other woman.

Slowly, Emma began to pass the weight of the two of them onto either foot, making them sway gently at the pace of her body movement. They both knew that they needed to hold one another for their own internal battles that they had been fighting for as long as they could remember. They needed one another's stability to hold themselves up, but since Emma's abduction, they both found themselves in weak dispositions with no guiding hand from the other. Even when they fought and _hated_ each other, they found that they had been relying on the other for moral and physical support more than they would ever realise.

"This town isn't going to let us age gracefully, you know." Emma concluded in a whisper to the top of Regina's head.

Regina laughed and shook her head in disbelief as she squeezed Emma's waist before pulling out of their blissful hug. "It's the people _in it_ that're going to kill us off one day."

"Ain't that the truth." Emma agreed as she poured out two Advils into her own hand. She threw them back and swallowed them dry in an identical manner to Regina's before she took the other woman's hand.

Emma pulled Regina out of the bathroom and seated her beside Charlotte at the breakfast bar. Amira on the other hand, had managed to lug Henry's huge, leather bound storybook from the coffee table in the living area and quietly sat looking at the pretty pictures. She would occasionally spot images of the Regina and squeal " _Gina!_ " as she pointed to them with a proud look plastered on her face, completely oblivious to the self-loathing that was going on in Regina's mind when she saw them.

"How about lunch?" Emma asked as she leaned over the opposite side of the counter. Anyone with eyes could see how exhausted the two brunettes were.

Charlotte began pushing herself off the bar stool, as if to be obliging to some request.

"Uh-uh," Emma shook her head and Charlotte sat back down. She tried to ignore the sad, longing feeling in the pit of her stomach, knowing far too well what was going through Charlotte's mind. "I'm cooking today. The two of you have done enough lately; you need to relax."

Regina narrowed her eyes at the blonde, "Emma, we can just call Granny's and have someone deliver lunch – don't go wearing yourself out before you've even started to get better. You're going to wear me out just from stress!"

She thought about it for a moment and let the idea of Granny's grilled cheese sandwiches and fries tempt her. But what pushed her to agreeing was the concerned look on Regina's face. She obviously couldn't lie and say that she was fine because Regina knew; she knew of the pain and mental disposition that Emma was in – there was no hiding from the woman.

"Fine, but once this is all over, I'm going to prove to you, Madam Mayor, that I can actually cook and I'll cook for the five of us." Emma all but stuck her tongue out at the older brunette, making Charlotte giggle and Regina's roll her eyes. "You know, one day you're going to roll your eyes and they're either going to fall out of their sockets or get stuck in the back of your head."

This time, Regina actually had to force herself not to roll her eyes at Emma's unspoken request. Emma was waiting for her to do it, and it would have been the icing on the cake if she had done so. Instead, Regina scoffed and leaned over the counter to grab Emma's hands.

"You are like a child," Regina whispered before letting go and stepping off the bar stool. She walked over to the only _actual_ child in the apartment at the time and pulled her onto her lap as she sat on the couch. The brunette picked up the storybook and joined Amira in skimming through the hand drawn images with a beaming smile on her face that was clearly trying to hide the pain that the damn book always seemed to inflict upon her.

Charlotte snapped her fingers in front of Emma's face. "You're staring," the teenager informed her as she flinched out of an apparent fascination in Regina's direction.

"What, pfft, no I wasn't." Emma scoffed as she tried not to smile with embarrassment at the girl. But Emma knew she had been staring – with a sight like that, who could blame her?! She had been fixated by the sway of Regina's hips as she practically sauntered across the room, and found her heart beating ten to the dozen when the strong, powerful Mayor fell into a soft, mothering role as she cradled Amira in her lap.

"How didn't you get caught staring at the Mayor like that before the curse broke?" Charlotte marvelled as she spotted Emma falling into another stare.

"I don't know what you're talking about, kid." The blonde blushed as she pulled her cell phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, pretending to not seem interested.

"Yeah, you do, because even _I_ saw you staring at her in the diner a few times, and when you got home from the Enchanted Forest, I was at your party, and I saw the way you looked at Regina when she showed up." Charlotte's little reminiscent smile made Emma blush slightly. "It was obvious that you liked her. And she looks at you in the same way too, but Regina is a _whole world_ subtler than you, Sheriff."

Emma threw the dry dishcloth at her side at the teenager. "Don't go picking the wrong side, kid, because I know Amira and Henry have already taken Regina's side. She seems to pluck the gullible ones."

"Isn't that saying something?" The teenager teased and threw the dishcloth back at the Sheriff. "Besides, I'm sure Regina would have called Granny's and ordered lunch by now."

Charlotte grinned and ran towards Regina and Amira, trying at all costs to not get tickled or pulled into a play-fight with the Sheriff. Emma was tempted the chase the teenager, but instead grinned to herself and pressed the speed dial button on her cell that put her directly on the line with Granny's.

*#*#*#*

After their lunch had arrived by special delivery of a former lost boy that had been taken in by one of Granny's loyal patrons, and everyone had eaten enough to have fed most of the kids in the Children's home, Emma and Regina claimed one couch, while Charlotte and Amira claimed the other. The four of them sprawled out into their most comfortable positions. Amira had crawled into a tiny ball on one end of the couch, while Charlotte stretched out on the other side, where as Emma and Regina found that the only way they could be comfortable was if they lay together in a spooning position. Emma insisted that she _had_ to be the big spoon.

It didn't take long for the two orphans to fall asleep in their comfortable positions. They had made themselves comfortable enough to relax in the peaceful and serene apartment, even when every change of their breathing was being watched by the two women on the opposite couch. Unlike Regina, Emma could understand their positions; the two girls had been welcomed into a very _very_ dysfunctional family that had an awful lot of love to give, and being kids that had obviously never been on the receiving end of familial love, they were soaking it up and making the very most of it. Emma hated the worried feeling that recided in her stomach about Charlotte. She was terrified that they would slip up about something and scare the poor girl off.

Emma remembered exactly what she was like at fifteen. She had just managed to escape from her thirty-second foster home and hated everyone and everything. People were disgusting and could never be trusted in her eyes. She just hoped with every microfibre of her being that the same thing wouldn't happen to Charlotte. If there was one thing she could do, Emma knew it was to save Charlotte from a miserable life without a family.

"What are you thinking about?" Regina whispered as she entangled her fingers with those that belonged to the arms that wrapped around her body.

Emma let out a gentle sigh and thought for a moment. She didn't know what to say to Regina. She didn't know how to explain the inner workings of a foster child's brain, and she certainly didn't know how to explain to Regina that she wanted those girls to be a part of their lives.

"I've been thinking about the girls," She started hesitantly. When she felt Regina nod against her chest, she continued. "I can't stop thinking about what their lives are going to be like after all of this blows over."

Regina hummed in acknowledgement and allowed her thumb to trace patterns on Emma's wrist. "I've been thinking the same. Even more so now that they're lying fast asleep on your parents' couch. They've made me think about us too."

"Yeah? Home come?" Emma asked, feeling slightly nervous before realising the position they were relaxing in.

"What happens once this is all over? Do we go back to living separate lives, or do we continue whatever _this_ is?" She sighed and leaned her head back onto Emma's chest. "Where do we go from here?"

"In a town full of fairy tales, I guess we just write our own." Emma suggested with a optimistic attitude that Regina wasn't entirely used to when it came to thinking about her life and her future. "We can do this however we want; there's no guide book to True Love or a 'Life After Abduction and Finding Out You're Your Mother's Mortal Enemy's True Love' self-help book. We're just going to have to make it on our own."

The brunette rolled Emma's fingers between her own, watching fascinated as they fit and moved together seamlessly. Even the back of her body seemed to conform perfectly to the shape of Emma's front. Everything Regina noticed about them appeared to fit together perfectly. Even their histories appeared opposite from afar, but once the ins and outs of their lives were mapped out, it was clear to see how they correlated in so many perfect ways.

Regina knew what her heart wanted. Her heart longed to just leap into a whole new life with Emma and Henry as her own, and maybe even include Charlotte and Amira in that, but her head argued otherwise. Her head wanted to prove her stability and commitment to this familial relationship. Her head was telling her that they needed to date - they couldn't just jump into this without properly dating, could they?

Regina asked the blonde the nagging question on her mind. "Do you think we should take it slow and go back to basics? We haven't even dated, Emma."

"I'm just going to give you my opinion, and if you disagree, then I want you to tell me, okay? We have to be on the same page with this." Emma warned as she turned her head to rest her cheek on the top of Regina's head. Regina nodded. "I think that if we have true love, then we don't need to date. If we're meant to be together, then we will. We're going to have the rest of our lives to have date nights - we've already got a family, technically we already know _a lot_ about each other, and we've already got a romantic connection. Isn't dating all about getting to know each other and building that connection?"

The brunette let out an exasperated sigh and shuffled her body enough to turn around and face Emma. "I suppose you're right. Your parents didn't date - they just kissed to break a curse and apparently lived happily ever after. Well, in their relationship, anyway." The two women scoffed at the sadistic turn their lives at taken. "I'm just… I don't know. Forget I said it."

In an attempt to distract Emma from questioning her, Regina ran her thumb across the blonde's bottom lip. She grinned when a gentle smile graced Emma's lips.

"I know what you're trying to do and it isn't going to work. Not today, anyway." Regina pursed her lips, and Emma swore it was almost a pout. "You're what, Regina? You can't just keep silent about this. You actually have a choice and a say in the matter this time. This is _our_ relationship and the two of us have to be happy with the arrangements."

"I'm just a little scared." Regina sighed again. She rubbed her frustrated head and groaned. "I'm scared that if we pursue this, something will happen to you again, or you'll finally see who I actually am and you'll leave. I'm even a little worried that my psychotic mother will find a way to return _again_ …"

Emma took the brunette's face between her hands and looked directly into Regina's dark eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to me, and I'm not going anywhere. From what I already know about your past, I know it's dark and incredibly messed up, but that's behind you in the same way my past is behind me; you're a completely different person now." She let her hands fall from Regina's face into the very minimal space between them. "Besides, if your mother _did_ come back, she couldn't be disappointed with our relationship - I'm a _Princess_ in line for my own throne. Talk about boosting your trajectory, Madam Mayor."

Regina hid her carefree smile with a whack to Emma's hip. "You should probably be careful, Miss Swan. If your head gets any bigger from all of that ego, your crown won't fit."

"If I were to become Queen, I'd _make sure_ my crown fit." Emma winked at the brunette and gave her a playful nudge. It almost felt ridiculous how easily the two of them seemed to be falling into domestic roles that neither of them had filled before. It was comfortable, and Emma knew it made her feel safe. There was no where else in the world that she would rather be in this moment than in Regina's arms. "So, what do you think? Do you wanna start writing our own fairy tale?"

This time, Regina couldn't hide her smile. "I think I would like that."

*#*#*#*

When Henry arrived home, accompanied by his grandparents, he was more than a little surprised to find his mothers out of bed and laying the dining table together. He dropped his book bag at the bottom of the metal stairs and raced across the apartment to embrace them.

"Hey, bud!" Emma ruffled his hair and held him tight as his body collided with her own. "How was school?"

"It was fine," he said, dismissing the question at letting go of his blonde mother to round the table and embrace his brunette mother in the same way. "How come you guys are out of bed? Are you both okay now?"

Regina smiled at her not-so-little boy who had wrapped himself around her waist. "Mr. Gold made us a healing potion. We're not completely back to our normal selves, but we're getting there, sweetheart."

"Good, I've missed you guys." His innocent little voice made Regina's heart ache. "I actually miss my bed at your house too…"

He laughed and blushed at how terrible he must have sounded. For so long after the curse broke he didn't want to spend time with his adoptive mother, now here he was, with no choice but to live with his Grandparents _and_ both of his mothers in a tiny apartment. Yet all he wanted was the peace and quiet of the mansion with the company of his mothers. And maybe Charlotte and Amira, but he wanted just a little bit of space to himself.

"Actually, Henry, we wanted to discuss that over dinner tonight, okay?" Emma told him as she put the last few pieces of cutlery in their place settings around the table. Henry nodded and raced up the metal apartment stairs to his part-time bedroom.

Charming and Snow both sat themselves at the kitchen counter to slouch under their own annoyances. Charming, for one, looked like he was about to collapse on the floor and pass out into an unconscious sleep that could easily be mistaken for a sleeping curse. While Snow looked like she was too busy silently reprimanding herself for something.

Emma looked at Regina with raised eyebrows as if to ask if she was seeing the same thing. When Regina nodded with a peering glance at the couple, the two women took each other's hand and stood across from Emma's parents.

"Are you guys okay?" Emma asked timidly.

"M'tired." Charming yawned as he slowly sat up straight. "Playing Sheriff is way too stressful for me. When you get back to work, kiddo, we're bringing in more people to help out because this is too much for just two people, and having Ruby work casually isn't going to help much either."

Emma laughed awkwardly. She knew what her father was trying to say, but she also knew that there certainly wasn't enough money in the department for that sort of spending. Regina was the Mayor, not a miracle worker, and she made the decisions.

"I'll see what we can do," Regina told him. She, like Emma, knew it wouldn't happen. But Regina just assumed that after this, Storybrooke would kind of get bored of crime and abduction for a little while. Or at least, that's what she hoped anyway.

When Snow didn't contribute or move her eyes away from their fixed spot on the wall, Emma reached across the counter and placed her hand on her mother's. "Mom?" The small brunette's eyes opened wide when her thoughtful moment was interrupted. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yes, darling. I'm fine."

Emma raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "Don't lie to me. I asked if you were okay, and anyone with eyes can see that you're not."

"I'm just really confused and flustered, Emma." Snow slouched onto the counter and rested her head on the cold, marble surface. "I feel like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde all at the same time."

Regina looked at her true love with concern in her eyes. Rumple had accused the Blue Fairy of cursing Snow and her conscience, and the more Regina thought about it, the more it was beginning to make sense. When Snow found out about their True Love connection, she was hesitant, but willing to grow and adapt to it. Then, when Blue got involved, everything turned into a shambles.

"Snow, you're probably not going to want to hear this…" Regina started out, making the dainty brunette raise her eyebrows in her own concern. "Rumple seems to think that you've been cursed by the Blue Fairy."

Snow tutted at the idea of such a thing. "Why would the Blue Fairy want to curse me? She's this family's fairy godmother, not some evil pixie."

"You'd be quite surprised…" Regina muttered under her breath for only Emma to hear.

"If Blue _had_ cursed me, surely the curse would have been broken with True Love's kiss." Snow snapped at the older brunette, as if her theory would blow any possibility of anything else out of the water.

Charming steepled his fingers under his chin and tried to hide his deep red blush that traveled from his chest to the top of his forehead. Emma spotted it immediately.

"I feel like as your daughter, I shouldn't be asking this question, but you look far too suspicious, dad." Emma said, drawing Regina and Snow's attention to the former prince. "What are you hiding?"

Charming dropped his face into his hands and hung a silence over the room. "Its nothing. We just haven't actually had time to… you know, be ourselves since you went missing."

"So you're embarrassed about the fact that you haven't kissed your wife in a week?" Regina asked, actually having to try and hide her surprise. She had heard far too many rumours that the two hadn't been able to keep their hands off each other when her curse broke, and she had seen how overly attached they were in Neverland.

Charming nodded and Snow's own blush matched his perfectly.

"It has been a hectic week, okay?!"

"Ugh," Regina groaned and let go of Emma's hand before kissing the woman on the cheek. She looked at Snow and Charming with disdain in her eyes and embarrassment colouring her cheeks. "I'm going to go check on Henry and the girls upstairs. When I come back down, I want the two of you to have actually shared a _proper_ kiss."

Regina strode from the kitchenette and directly up the metal staircase, awkwardly leaving Emma standing in front of her parents. She grit her teeth and chose to busy herself with final preparations for their rather large family dinner. She plucked bags of salad out of the refrigerator and ruffled them to fill the air with sounds that weren't made by kisses. She clanged glasses together and attempted to hum her own little tune, just to pervade her hearing.

When she heard the sound of a throat being cleared, Emma hastily turned around to see her parents with their arms wrapped around one another. Charming seemed to pull off the same grin Emma knew she had on her lips every time she kissed Regina, while her mother blushed with a coy smile. She couldn't help but shake her head at how cheesy and corny her parents' relationship was.

"Well, how's your head, Dr. Jekyll?" Emma asked with bated breath.

Snow thought about it for a moment and inelegantly shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure. I think I'm only overwhelmed by feeling when Regina is around." Emma raised an eyebrow at her mother, clearly not impressed with the fact that the woman hadn't even considered being cursed. How on earth could one's emotions only kick in when they see someone, but not think about them. The woman was oblivious.

"Hey, Regina!" Charming called up the stairs.

The three heard the brunette groan in annoyance as her kitten heels clicked along the floorboards of the loft. She descended the staircase with an impassive stare. Even when she made eye contact with Emma, her face remained emotionless.

"C'mere," Emma so eloquently requested with her arm out to the woman, who stalked over to the blonde's side and wrapped her arm around Emma's waist.

The two women watched Snow's eyes flicker between the two of them, and her own impassive facial expression remained neutral for what felt like a century. When her eyes began to fill with tears and a gentle smile graced her lips did Regina allow herself to breathe again.

"It's gone," Snow breathed and sniffled. "My head's clear again."

Emma wanted to match her father's grin again, but worried too much about her mother's reaction. She still hadn't had the all clear of approval on her relationship from her mother, and now that her mind was clear of any curse or spell, she finally had the chance to hear what her mother truly believed of their magical connection.

Feeling Emma's body stiffen in her grip, Regina squeezed the woman's waist and slowly caressed the small of her back.

' _ **She's already told you that she is okay with this, Emma. It was always going to take her a while to come around to the idea, and this won't change that. She is just going to have the opportunity to actually get used to it now.**_ '

' _ **I just need to hear her say it before I believe it.**_ '

Snow let out a sigh and attempted to pull herself together emotionally before she held her arms out to pull her daughter into a hesitant hug. "I'm so sorry, Emma. I'm sorry I couldn't believe you. But I see it - I've always seen it between you." When she felt Emma loosen up in her arms and actually hug her back, her voice turned into a whisper. "I'm truly happy for you, darling."

When Snow finally released her daughter from their embrace, she took to standing in front of Regina, who couldn't take her eyes away from Emma's relieved smile.

"I want to apologize, Regina." Snow started, gaining the older brunette's full attention. She pulled Regina into an incredibly reluctant embrace. "I'm sorry that I ever doubted you and Emma on this…"

Regina felt Snow's tense, strong hands grip her upper arms tightly. Something wasn't right and Regina knew it. "It's not gone…" she whispered into Snow's ear.

Snow shook her head. "No."

*#*#*#*

For some unbeknownst reason, Snow had a hidden highchair in the back of her closet that Charming spent twenty minutes just attempting to put together while they were waiting for the finishing touches of their dinner to be completed. Regina had intended on ordering in from Granny's for their big family dinner, but with Rumple's _mysterious_ healing potion still pumping through their veins, she knew that with Emma's help, they would be able to whip up the best meal that Snow's oven had ever been graced with making.

She moved around the tiny kitchenette with a natural elegance that could have made any onlooker believe she had cooked there a million times before. With Emma at her side, they worked in perfect harmony, even as the brunette balanced a fascinated toddler on her hip. The two never even had to communicate to get their job done - or at least, that's what everyone else assumed.

' _ **Pass the salt**_.' Emma would silently instruct.

' _ **Stir the sauce and grab some serving bowls**_.' Regina told her as she prepared a large salad bowl.

They smiled and shared secret glances as they moved. Their silent dance through the kitchenette was hypnotising and in Charlotte's eyes. It the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. When dinner was ready and being served, Henry and Charming cheered in unison as they managed to successfully assemble the high chair for Amira, who was thrilled to see the colourful images all over it.

As they ate, multiple conversations were being mixed across the table. Charlotte and Snow were discussing the girl's education, Emma and Henry were babbling incomprehensible words to Amira, while Regina and Charming quietly discussed the investigation that was ongoing through the station.

"Did you get anywhere with Hayden today?"

Charming sighed at the Mayor and shook his head. "Not really. We've got a vague motive for him, but we can't point any fingers directly at him yet. Ruby and I are going to search the basement tomorrow. We've prepared our equipment, and we've got Sean to step in and just sit in the station to manage phone calls and watch over Blue and Hayden in the cells." He took a moment to chew several mouthfuls of food before he started again. "After our search we're going to interview Hayden again. We might even need Emma to tell us what she can remember of him."

Regina furrowed her brow in concern. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. Not on police record, anyway. I can do it and report back, but I don't think she would appreciate being questioned like that about it."

He nodded at the brunette but didn't say any more on the matter. His daughter's abduction wasn't exactly a table time conversation.

"Hey, so, uh, Regina and I have been thinking," Emma finally said to the entire table. "It's beginning to get really cramped in here when the five of us are in here, and at the moment, there are seven of us…"

Charlotte guiltily looked down at her plate and thought to herself, ' _And you've overstayed your welcome, once again, Charlotte_.' She had done it again and made people feel uncomfortable with her presence. She wanted to stand and leave, but Regina's hand on her own kept her grounded in her seat.

"Henry and Regina are going to be moving back into Mifflin Street, and Regina has asked me to move in with them." She paused and waited for her parents to react, but refused to make eye contact with them. "We've already got a family and a pretty strong basis on our relationship, so I've decided that it's the best option for us."

Snow smiled across the table to her daughter - it was a genuine smile, and Emma could tell how happy her mother was for her, but she couldn't see the conflicting thoughts flashing through her eyes. Her father, on the other hand, looked frightfully terrified at the thought of it all. He only had his daughter back for a short while, and she was already leaving the nest. He was ecstatic for her to be finding her happy ending, but in his eyes, she was still is baby girl.

This time, Regina spoke up and squeezed Charlotte's hand. "We also wanted to use this opportunity to ask Amira and Charlotte if they would like to join our _very_ dysfunctional family." Charlotte began choking on the air around her. Her throat constricted and her jaw dropped comically. She didn't even hear Henry cheer and high-five his blonde mother.

"Are you serious?" Charlotte asked in utter disbelief. "Are you actually serious?"

Regina and Emma laughed at the astounded teenager and nodded. Emma wrapped her arm around Regina's shoulders and leaned towards the teenager. "We're writing our own rules of true love, and we want you and Amira to be a part of our family and happy ending. Besides, Henry could do with some siblings to wind him up a little."

"Oh my goodness," the teenager bawled, but beamed beneath her joyful tears. She couldn't help but turn in her seat and attempt to graciously hug her new guardians. She could barely reach Emma, but when their eyes met, the blonde woman seemed to know exactly what she was thinking.

"Welcome to the family, kid."

*#*#*#*

After dinner, Snow and Regina insisted that they would deal with the dirty dishes and the mess left in the kitchen. Emma wasn't too happy to be leaving her _girlfriend_ with her mother so soon after apparently breaking her internal curse, but Regina's incessant glare proved to Emma that they really needed to chat.

"How could you tell?" Snow asked as she began washing dishes and handing them over to Regina one by one. "How could you tell that it's still there."

"Your eyes are blue. You've always had incredibly dark eyes, so it was an immediate give-away." Regina leaned on counter as she watched Emma happily chase the little blonde toddler around Snow's coffee table. She allowed herself to quietly laugh along when Amira screamed with laughter as Emma caught her.

Snow glanced over at Regina before confirming her theory by inspecting her eyes in the back of a spoon that she had just cleaned. Her eyes glistened in turquoise before flickering back to their original deep brown colour. She blinked and watched the blue colour wash over her pupils and around her irises.

"Fix it." Snow demanded. "Please, Regina. I need this to be over. I'm too exhausted."

Regina shook her head. "I can't. Not right now, anyway." She sighed and took a wet plate from Snow and began aggressively trying to dry it. "For one, the only extraction I can do on a fairy's magic will knock you out cold for a couple of hours, and secondly, I'm not actually strong enough to be able to perform that kind of magic at the moment. The spell I performed on Hayden today was an anomaly. I shouldn't have been able to do it, but the magic build up in my blood was just seeping out of my skin. He was by outlet, and I abused it a little too much."

With a huff, Snow threw her wet sponge into the dish water and pointed her soapy finger at the woman beside her. "You have to fix this. My own daughter doesn't trust me, and I hate the fact that she is moving out of our home to live with _you._ None of this would have happened if _you_ hadn't abused Emma's true love influence."

"What the hell are you talking about, Snow?" Regina hissed, trying to keep her voice down so Emma wouldn't hear their little argument.

Snow matched her hushed hiss.

"You know exactly what I mean. You know that a child born of true love can be influenced into loving anyone truly and deeply. We all know that's what you did - you found out that you were _soulmates_ and you abused it. You were always meant to be connected in some way, and that some way was Henry - not true love. Your true love died a long time ago. Don't ruin my daughter's chance at a happy ending, just like you tried to ruin mine."

"Need I remind you that it was _you_ who ruined _my_ first chance at a happy ending?" Regina batted away Snow's finger, that was so accusingly pointing at her. "Emma kissed _me_. I didn't initiate it - she broke the curse. I didn't even know anything about the true love influence until I had done my research after our curse broke. So, no matter how many times you insist that I influenced her into this, know one thing: she loved me long before that kiss."

A dejected slump fell over Snow. Her heart already knew all of these things, and she fought so hard to remind her head that what she was thinking wasn't true. Her internal battle was ripping her to shreds and essentially destroying her. Before the dark curse broke, she and Emma had discussed her daughter's apparent crush on the Mayor, but once they were all brought back to their true personalities, she had discarded the piece of trivia to the back of her mind. She even tried to forget how many time Emma found herself at the bottom of a bottle when she and Regina had fought.

"Regina, please. I need you to help me figure this out."

The older brunette dried the last plate on the counter and finally threw down the towel. "The only person that can break this curse properly is the Blue Fairy: not me, not Gold, nor any other fairy, but Blue."


	25. CSI Storybrooke

**CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - CSI Storybrooke**

Saturday mornings usually found Ruby laying in bed, cradling a pounding hangover. However, this Saturday found Ruby pulling her pants shut around her ample ass and buttoning her Deputy shirt around her full breasts. Her morning struggle verified that she definitely needed to put in a request for a larger and much more attractive uniform at the Mayor's office. With the recent turn of events, Ruby was almost certain that the Mayor would agree with her.

She hooked her police badge onto the waistband of her pants, grabbed her jacket and hurried out of the house she shared with her grandmother. David was already waiting in the cruiser outside the B&B with a huge shit-eating grin on his face.

"Wow, you are way too cheerful for 9am on a Saturday morning," She said as she dropped into the passenger seat. She buckled herself in and side-eyed the acting Sheriff. "Why _are_ you so cheerful…?"

"Snow is back to her normal self, and Emma and Regina had some good news to share with us last night." He put the cruiser into drive and pulled away from the B&B. He sped off down Main Street with his beaming smile still plastered across his face.

Ruby had sat patiently and waited for him to tell her of Emma and Regina's _good news_. When they were a block away from the Children's Home, Ruby's impatience had gotten the better of her. She huffed. "Are you just going to sit there smiling like some sort of crazy person, or are you going to indulge me in my friends' gossip?!"

"Emma and Regina are moving into the Mansion together in the next few days," Ruby's eyes widened with wonder and matched Charming's grin. "And they've decided that they're going to adopt Charlotte and Amria."

The brunette's smile faltered slightly. "Moving in together is awesome and I'm glad they're doing it so soon, but _adopting_ already?! Don't you think that's a bit too soon?"

Charming nodded slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "That's how I reacted last night. They've known about their true love connection for a week, and for three of those days, Emma was missing or unconscious in the hospital, but this is _them_ we're talking about. They've already made their minds up with what they want to do. Emma claimed that they're _writing their own fairytale_. Apparently following in the footsteps of other couples of true love isn't good enough for them; they want to do it their own way."

"Why do you sound so surprised at that?" Ruby chuckled. "This is Emma and Regina - if things don't go their way, they throw BFs. It actually makes sense. Besides, if they have true love, they're destined to be together and share their happy ending. They're obviously just making the most of lost time, I suppose."

Agreeing with his Deputy, Charming curbed the cruiser outside the Children's Home and mentally psyched himself up to investigate the crime scene in which his daughter was found half dead. His grin was long gone now; instead he pulled the keys out of the ignition and wrung his hands before he threw his door open and stormed around to the trunk. He pulled out bags and briefcases full of technologies that Emma had only told him about.

"When will Rumple be joining us?" Ruby asked him as he threw a huge duffle bag into her arms. Her casual stance left her with very little strength in her legs to even hold the bag in her arms, let alone the following three that Charming dumped on her.

"He's already here. He's checking for whatever magic had been performed down there in excess." Charming slammed the trunk shut and lugged the five bags he had dropped as his feet up the steps to the Children's Home.

' _There goes my hope at a more cheerful day out the window,_ ' Ruby thought bitterly to herself. She understood his reasonings, of course, but it would have made the day so much easier on all of them if he was still in a good mood. She followed Charming into the Children's home and through to the kitchen, where they were greeted by Nova, who looked like a complete nervous wreck.

"Deputies, Charlotte and Amira are missing," she squeaked hysterically. "They never came home last night and we haven't been able to find them anywhere, and I need Charlotte to help take care of this place - that's her job. She looks after the children and cooks and cleans and makes sure that the rest of them do their chores and now she's missing and this place has turned to wrack and ruin."

Charming didn't hide his irritated eye roll. He had been in such a cheerful mood until they pulled up to the Children's Home. He couldn't wait for all of this to be over and done with, just so he didn't have to come back.

"They're with Emma and Regina," Charming snapped. "Where they're actually being taken care of because you've all made Charlotte care for the other children, and the poor kid hasn't even been able to take care of herself. Charlotte and Amira are living with us at the apartment for a little while."

"O...Oh," Nova muttered, looking more than confused. She flustered herself to the point where her cheeks were bright red before she dismissed herself from the kitchen.

"I dread to think what the Children's Homes and foster homes that Emma endured were like." Charming took a deep breath and shook his head. There was nothing he could do about Emma's past - ' _it happened the way it did so she could have Henry and be with her true love_ ', he kept reminding himself, no matter how hard it was becoming.

He and Ruby cautiously took to the stairs down to basement where Rumple had set up a few of the department owned scene lights. They lit up the entire basement, much to Ruby and Charming's dismay. The smell that lingered heavily in the air made Ruby gag and heave. Damn her wolf senses. The smell of vomit, rotting flesh, blood and other bodily liquids filled the brunette's nostrils, taunting her senses and coercing her stomach to constrict and force her own bodily fluids up to her esophagus. She bit back the bile and covered her face and nose with the sleeve of her jacket.

The blood stained metal table in the middle of the room seemed to be the only thing that had faced an attempt at a clean. Not even the thick pool of blood towards the back of the basement had been mopped. This was careless. This was done at the hands of an idiot.

"Oh my god," Charming had to bite his tongue to stop his eyes from clouding over with tears. When they had found Emma, Charming didn't even think about the smell or what could be hidden in the darkness. All he cared about at the time was making sure his daughter was safe and in his arms. Seeing it in the light was so traumatising that he refused to allow his mind to wander towards what Emma went through down here.

"It's not a very pleasant scene, is it, dearie?" Rumple uttered. He sounded sympathetic, but there was always going to be his _Dark One_ finesse over everything. "I've mapped out where most of the magic was performed on the Sheriff. Not that I'm surprised, but it was over the table here."

Rumple approached the table with as much caution as possible as he stepped and hobbled over pools of blood and shadows where something had been scrubbed off the floor. He slowly waved his hand over the metal table while Ruby and Charming dumped their equipment to join him. Yellow magic hovered over the table before dispersing around the room into a deep fog. The fog became thicker and a brighter shade of yellow than others.

"The brighter the areas, the more magic was used, I'm assuming," Ruby said as she glanced around the room.

"Correct," Rumple smirked at the wolf. He hadn't been at all surprised at her knowledge and capability over the previous few days. In fact, he was more impressed than anything else. "If you look, there was a huge use of magic at the top end of the table. I'm assuming the Sheriff's head was here. By controlling your _opponent's_ mind, you have the upper hand, and I'm assuming that's what happened here."

"Can you find who the magic belonged to?" The acting Sheriff asked. He didn't need to know every detail of what happened to his daughter. Rumple could write up his own report for the department, Charming didn't have to do it. In fact, he refused to do it.

Rumple shook his head. "It can't lead me directly to the wielder, but the colour matches with a certain friend of ours."

"So it's definitely Hayden?"

"According to my magic, yes. But you already said that you want to do this by the rules of this world, so we can't argue that the reason we know who kidnapped Emma is because we traced her abductor's magic. We need physical proof from this world."

"So we're going to have to be official Crime Scene Investigators?" Ruby asked the rhetorical question before realising what she had said. Her eyes widened and a sadistic grin plastered her face. "We're gonna be CSI Storybrooke."

*#*#*#*

Emma hadn't slept all night. She had spent her entire night watching the moonlight flicker across Regina's gentle features. The scar on the brunette's lip was one of the more prominent features that Emma spent her time focusing on. It still was a mystery to her how Regina had got the scar, and she wanted to know. She wanted to know everything there was to know about the private woman. She wanted to break down her walls and discover everything that Regina kept quiet.

The blonde had already been incredibly successful in breaking down a few of the walls that Regina had put up around herself throughout her life. When their curse broke, Regina hated physical contact; she was too terrified to even be held. Now, the brunette refused to sleep without having some form of physical connection with Emma. The thought that she had actually made Regina a little happier in the last few days was enough for Emma. It was enough to know that her presence was welcomed and more than appreciated for once.

She had even been welcomed enough to be given a new home with the woman. In the year that she had spent living in Storybrooke, not once did she ever dream that she would be invited to live in the Mayoral Mansion; not once did she ever dream that she would even be lucky enough to have a fighting chance with Regina. If someone had told her a year ago that she and Regina would be in this position, she would have laughed in their face. Hysterically.

Yet here she was, face-to-face, chest-to-chest and heart-to-heart with Regina _fricken_ Mills.

The brunette lightly snored until 8am, when her usual bodyclock kicked in and roused her gently from her slumber. Much like Henry, his adoptive mother had the capabilities of waking up at the same time every single day, however, Regina had a little more stamina when it came to staying up later than 9pm.

"Hello, gorgeous," Emma whispered as Regina slowly opened her eyes to the bright, autumn morning light.

"Hi," she breathed with a dizzying smile. "How are you awake so early?"

"I heard my dad leaving for the station," she lied. In fact, it was only moments ago that she heard his alarm clock echo through the apartment. Regina knew it was a lie, but she had barely just opened her eyes and really didn't want to quarrel so early in the morning, so she flashed an exhausted smile.

The dark circles around Emma's eyes were merely a reflection of the things that had been running on her mind all night. If she felt as exhausted as she looked, Regina knew that they wouldn't be moving into her home today. She had to make sure Emma was well enough to be able to lug all of her belongings across town, then figure out something for Charlotte and Amira's sleeping arrangements.

"So, I've been thinking," Emma started, prompting Regina to actually start listening again. "I don't think I've ever even seen more than five rooms in your house, and they're all on the ground floor…"

"Let me guess: the kitchen, the dining room, the bathroom, my study and the living room?" Regina chuckled. She was almost embarrassed, but thought for a moment about their situation. "Well, I don't suppose it would have been a topic of conversation to ask my _apparent_ enemy if she would enjoy a guided tour of my home, would it?"

Emma's bashful smile was enough to make Regina forget how strange their situation still seemed to be. "But I suppose I should have one now, since you've asked me to move in and all. The last thing I wanna do is wander around and find myself in a room I shouldn't be."

Regina raised an eyebrow at the blonde. "Nothing in that house is going to be off limits to you, Miss Swan. It will be as much yours as it is mine."

Emma's eyes dropped to the space between them. She couldn't stand to look at Regina in that moment. She couldn't stand the thoughts of what could be going through Regina's mind if she saw the desperation in her eyes, or even the fear that resided deep in green pools. Emma had never had a _home_ to call her own; the apartment she rented in Boston was temporary accommodation set up by her employer until she could find herself a place in the city. Before she had landed her job in Boston, Emma spent her nights hopping between Motel 6's and hotels that should have been shut down long ago. It helped with how few possessions she had to call her own, but the instability of not knowing where she was going to sleep every night didn't.

"You'll have your own space; there's enough room there for you to have a home office too, if you wanted." Regina sighed and lifted Emma's chin to level with her own. "You'll have a home to call your own, Emma."

Regina pulled Emma's face to her own as she took in a deep, jagged breath before pressing her lips tightly to the blonde's. Their kiss was filled with a warmth that neither had felt before; it was a gentle but promising kiss that felt like it had lasted an eternity. Emma held tightly onto Regina's shirt and fought against the brunette's soft movements.

When they finally pulled apart, Emma's dizzying smile was back and her excitement was more than apparent. "I think I could get used to having in a proper home, but _that… That_ is something I'm never going to get used to."

*#*#*#*

"I found a fingerprint!" Ruby practically screamed when her black light flashed over a smudge on the metal table.

Charming had to smile at his Deputy's enthusiasm, even though he couldn't drag his worried mind away from his daughter. "Collect them and we'll have Doc test them when we're back at the station." He paused for thought - remembering how much the table had been cleaned before they had even cordoned off the crime scene. "I don't think we're going to find many accurate prints or evidence that would stand in a court from that table, Ruby. The evidence has already been tampered with. We need something that he wouldn't think to clean or alter since Emma's abduction."

"Then I suppose you would wish to log the fading footprints on the stairs, dearie?" Rumple said as he peered over the bloodied footprints that faded with each step.

"Who's to say that they aren't mine or yours when we found Emma?" He sighed, and restrained himself from frustratedly running his fingers through his hair. "They're obviously not Regina's. There's no way a pair of pumps could make a size twelve footprints."

Ruby collected her evidence from the table before putting her equipment down and grabbing her camera to join Charming and Rumple at the bottom of the stairs. "They're not a size twelve," She tilted her head in observation before placing a ruler beside the clearest print. "They're a ten - maybe a ten and a half."

"Do you think you could go scout out Hayden's closet?" Charming asked the brunette, feeling more than slightly relieved at having a size fourteen pair of feet. "If we can match these footprints to him, then that's his second strike. Three strikes and he's going down for attempted murder."

The lanky brunette nodded before taking her photographs of the prints and sprinting up the wooden stairs to first floor of the Children's Home. As she rounded the corner to the main staircase, she caught a glimpse inside the playroom, where all of the children had been rounded up and told to _just behave_. She grimaced at the lives these kids had been handed. Sure, they had better lives now than they would have without the dark curse, but they were still orphans with no actual chance in life.

She sighed deeply as she took to the stairs. ' _Charlotte and Amira were the luckiest kids in this place_ ,' she thought to herself. Either they had been in the right place at the right time, or they had just been destined to be a part of Emma and Regina's happy ending. Ruby didn't care about the logistics of the matter - she was just happy that the girls would have two loving mothers and a brother that would treat them like the princesses they should have been.

"Can I help you, Deputy Lucas?" One of the fairy-nuns asked, startling Ruby out of her thoughts. "You look a bit lost."

Ruby shook herself out of the maze in her mind and smiled. "Uh, Hayden's room is the one on the end, right?"

The fairy-nun nodded. "Unfortunately its locked and none of us have the key to let you in."

With a smirk that could have given the Evil Queen a run for her money, Ruby stalked through the corridor, leaving the fairy-nun calling after her. She gratefully noticed that the door was missing a padlock, meaning that her only way in was to kick down the door.

"If only I was a wizard and the _Alohamora_ spell worked in this world." She uttered with a blasé shrug of her shoulders and an effortless kick to the wood above the door handle. "But I suppose roaming the Enchanted Forest with a bandit was all the magic I needed."

The door ricocheted off the wall and rattled on its hinges. Ruby waved the startled fairy-nun off before sauntering into the teenager's bedroom. She readjusted her latex gloves and flicked the light switch to reveal a grossly idealistic bedroom. The curtains that hung over the tiny window were parted and primped perfectly; the bed had clearly been made without a crease, and not a single thing on the shelves or the desk seemed to be out of place. Everything had been organised to perfection. ' _This is unnatural_.' Ruby thought to herself. ' _I'm pretty sure most serial killers are perfectionists, but this is something else_.'

She photographed everything she could see before touching anything. Once she knew that she had captured everything, she pulled open the closet doors to find everything exactly as she had suspected. This clothes were hung in colour coordination, things were folded above and beneath at storefront perfection and his shoes were organised from formal to casual to working shoes. With several other photographs saved on the camera, Ruby started flipping over the shoes to reveal their bases. She used her photograph of the prints on the stairs to find some sort of comparison in the print. The size was right, but none of the size ten shoes in his _perfect_ closet seemed to match up with their evidence.

Feeling aggravated with her constant dead-ends in their investigation, the brunette couldn't stop herself from wandering over to the desk and dropping down on Hayden's chair. She groaned loudly in frustration. Nothing was _ever_ easy in this town. Resting her elbows heavily on the desk, Ruby rubbed her temples before rubbing her hands over her face to then steeple them beneath her chin. She _had_ to think. She had done all of this before as a bandit, and she had been pretty damn good at it.

Her eyes wandered among the books on and around Hayden's desk before fixing her eyes on a tatty, leather bound journal. It was the only book in front of her that wasn't completely covered in a thick layer of dust. Grabbing her camera again, she photographed the dustfall around the journal and pulled it out of its place.

She didn't even need to untie the twine that wrapped around the journal for everything she needed to fall directly onto her lap. She grinned and held in her little squeal that was bursting to erupt from her throat. Instead, she kept her calm and pulled out two of her evidence bags from the pocket in her pants. She slid the journal into one and sealed it, then slid an abundance of photographs and handwritten notes into the other.

"We've got you now, Hayden, my friend."

Before cordoning off Hayden's bedroom as another crime scene and closing the door behind her, Ruby scoured the rest of the room for any other slip-ups the teenager could have made, but found nothing of the like. She descended the second floor with a beaming smile on her face and a warmth in her heart that told her that she would be doing her friends proud. And more importantly, she would be doing Regina proud. She _still_ had to prove to the woman how grateful she was that the curse had brought her to Storybrooke; without it, she still would have been roaming the forest at night and killing innocent people with no memory of doing such a thing.

When she descended her second flight of stairs into the basement, he heard Charming and Rumple discussing in serious hushed tones.

"And if it is your son's, we're still going to have to place him in custody. He's going to have to be one of our prime suspects, Gold. We can't just overlook the fact that his dreamcatcher was at the scene of the crime!"

"Why would Baelfire want to harm the mother of his son? He, as much as the Saviour, doesn't wish to rehash old memories between them. They've both grown up and moved apart, Charming." Rumple stepped away from Charming and his rage filled glare. "If Henry thought he did this, he would never forgive him. It would mean that my son would never see his own. I would never get to spend time with my grandson either. Consider how _you_ would see this if roles were reversed and I accused your daughter of doing this to Baelfire."

Ruby could see Charming's shoulders roll back in defeat as he slouched.

"We don't have to go pointing fingers at people's kids," Ruby interrupted their silence and held out her evidence bags. "I think I might have hit the jackpot."

*#*#*#*

"Did you find anything?" Regina asked into her cellphone as she found herself a comfortable spot on Snow's couch before Belle began pushing another IV into the top of her hand. She glanced over at Emma, who was engrossed in watching Henry and Charlotte attempt to teach Amira how to count.

" _A couple of size ten footprints on the stairs - you, Rumple and Charming have already been ruled out of that - they were either there before you found Emma, or after. We can't be sure on the timing… But we found a dreamcatcher that belonged to Neal down here._ " Ruby paused when she heard Regina's animalistic growl through the line. " _But Rumple said that it was used as a way to convey memories or something. I'm not sure, but it's not from Neal. We found a few fingerprints about the place, but a lot of the mess had been cleaned up before we could make it an official crime scene._ "

Regina sighed. "So you're telling me that the three of you spent all morning there and found nothing?"

" _Actually, no. I went looking for shoes that matched the footprints on the stairs and found Hayden's journal. We haven't looked at it yet, but there were a load of pictures shoved between the pages and they fell out when I grabbed it. Do you wanna come take a look at it with us?_ "

She thought about the request as she glanced over at Emma and the children. There was likely to be things in that journal that she didn't need to know. She didn't even want to consider the possibility of what the photographs held. For all she knew, they could have been images of Emma before they managed to find her, and Regina knew that she would much rather lose her mind than see her love in such a mess again.

"No, thank you, Deputy Lucas." Regina paused and glanced down at the IV in her hand. "I think it would be best to hand this over to the Sheriff's department to deal with until you have come to the conclusion and begin your conviction."

" _Of course. Thank you Madam Mayor._ "

As the dial tone echoed through her ears, Regina felt an overwhelming amount of gratitude wash over her. So many people she had once called her enemies had proved their worth tenfold to her in the last week. Things weren't suddenly going to be fine and rosy between herself and a few others, she knew that. But she knew deep down, that things were only going to get better for them. She and the Charmings were calling an official truce, Rumpelstiltskin actually wanted her to find her happy ending, Snow's bandit friend and werewolf sidekick was actually calling Regina her _friend_ , and Emma Swan - oh, Emma Swan had proved herself to be _everyone's_ Saviour.

"Hey, Regina, are you okay?" Emma's worried voice rattled around her mind as the blonde tried to push herself off the couch and drag the metal stand which kept her IV elevated across the room. The blonde crouched in front of Regina and placed her hand gently on the woman's cheek, strategically catching every tear that fell from the brunette's eyes. "Regina, what's wrong?"

It wasn't until brown eyes met green that Regina actually moved her cell phone from her ear and smiled at the woman before her.

"There's nothing wrong, darling," Regina wrapped her delicate fingers around Emma's wrist. "I'm just happy. I'm really _happy_."

"That doesn't tell me why you're crying though…" Emma moved her hand from Regina's face and hoisted herself onto the couch beside the brunette. She wrapped her arm around Regina's shoulders and pulled the woman into her side. "Why are you so upset?"

"I really am happy, Emma. Look at me; really look at me. I never thought I would find my happy ending; I never thought I would have a family that loved me for who I am; I never thought I would have any of this." She gestured to the blonde and the three children playing on the floor. "You have literally saved me from my own demise. You've become _my_ Saviour."

Emma pulled Regina tighter and kissed the top of her head. "You deserve all of this. You deserve your happy ending because you're not a villain anymore. You're just Mayor Regina Mills of Storybrooke, mother to Henry Mills, and soon to be mother of Charlotte and Amira, and girlfriend of Sheriff Emma Swan. You're the luckiest person in town, I'd say."

A week ago, Regina knew she would have rolled her eyes as dramatically as she could, but now, she couldn't help but smile because she knew Emma was right. And _for once_ , she really was the luckiest person in town.

She lifted her head to face Emma's and offered a teasing smile to the blonde as she glanced between the woman's green eyes and her pink lips. She raised her chin and met the blonde's mouth with parted lips. Her hands wandered to the back of Emma's neck as she pulled her impossibly closer. Their lips vibrated with a heat that radiated strongly off them. Emma's tongue darted out of her mouth and skimmed along the edge of Regina's bottom lip; it was met with a welcoming hum from the brunette as she parted her lips further.

Emma's hands found their way to Regina's cheeks once more as their breathlessness started to become out of hand. Their lips pulled and pushed against each other in a loving dance.

"You guys are so gross," Henry groaned when he spotted his mothers getting far too carried away in such an open place. Both women turned a dark shade of red and slowly pulled away from one another, as they tried to ignore the giddy, childlike feelings deep in their stomachs.

"Sorry, sweetheart," Regina mumbled in the most ungraceful way that Emma had ever seen from the woman. True, she had let her guard down _a lot_ in the last few days, but to drop her proper attitude in such a way made Emma grin with realisation that she had the woman wrapped around her little finger.

"What did Ruby want when she called?" Emma finally asked when the children found themselves preoccupied again and she and Regina's embarrassment faded into light blushes. Their swollen lips remained the same, however.

"She just wanted to keep me updated on the progress of their investigation. It looks promising." Regina took Emma's hand and stroked her fingers along the blonde's. She hesitantly looked up to the other woman and almost squinted as she asked: "Do you remember anything of the person that abducted you?"

Emma tilted her head as though to stare off into the distance, looking for an answer. She shook her head lightly. "I don't remember much. I never even saw his face. But his voice… there was something slightly distinctive about it. It almost sounded _fake_. That sounds ridiculous, I know, but his voice didn't sound real. And I couldn't tell you how tall he was because I was either led down or… you know…"

Regina interlocked her fingers between Emma's and squeezed her hand tight, prompting her that she needn't go on. "That's okay. In fact, that will actually be helpful. Your father, Ruby and Rumple have a _hunch_ , and there are ways that they can use that information. I think we've known all along, but this could just confirm it all." Emma nodded and squeezed Regina's hand in return. "It will all be over soon, and you won't have to worry or even think about it again."

The blonde let out a breathy laugh, prompting Regina to look at her like she had completely lost her mind. "We are so messed up."

"What really is so funny about us being _messed up_?" Regina asked, pulling her head away from Emma's slightly.

"I mean, come on. We're supposed to be the two most powerful and strong women in this godforsaken town and we can't even get through a conversation without one of us getting upset or uncomfortable for rehashing hard times or crying from being _happy_." Emma shook her head with a sad smile. "How did we even get to this point?"

Regina allowed herself to gently laugh and shake her own head. "I really don't know, my love."


	26. Everything Changes

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - Everything Changes**

Emma, Regina and Rumple stood outside the gate that led into the front yard of 108 Mifflin Street. Regina clung to her grip on Emma's hand with all of her might. The thought of what was behind her tall shrubbery made the brunette feel physically sick – the idea of having so many ghosts of her past still collecting in her front yard wasn't something she was willingly going in to face. She was stronger now that she had Emma there for support, but between the two of them, they were both emotionally drained, not to mention physically too.

"I need as much true love as you can conjure, dearies." He ignored Regina's glare because he had already gone over what they were to be doing on this Sunday morning multiple times. He didn't want to awkwardly stand on the sidewalk as the two of them kissed either, but it was the only way he could do it. It was the only way to create the perfect counter curse. "Do you want to lose your garden _gnomes_ or not?"

"So we've just got to kiss and you'll have the true love you need to get rid of them…?" Emma asked, still not quite understanding what Rumple wanted them to do. Rumple nodded with an irritated look. "Fine, but do you _have_ to be stood next to us? Because this is kinda awkward."

Emma gestured to the very small gap between the three of them. Rumple huffed and rounded the Mayor's car that was parked curbside. His back slouched against the side of the bonnet so he was looking directly at the house across the street. He didn't want to see this as much as they didn't want him watching.

"Whenever you're ready, dearies."

Turning to face the brunette who was holding her hand close to numbness and staring off into the distance, Emma tilted Regina's chin upwards and stroked her bottom lip with her thumb. "Stop thinking about what's in there," Emma whispered. "It's all going to be okay, and you'll never have to see them again. Just think about _us_ and our happy ending."

Emma felt the corners of Regina's lips slightly turn up under her thumb. It was an improvement from the glare and worried looks that she had been casting off since Rumple called from the station yesterday.

' _ **Happiness has always suited you, Regina**_ **.'**

This time, the corners of Regina's mouth turned into a proper smile, and Emma took the opportunity to crash their lips together in a heated mess. Teeth, tongues and lips all collided at the same time, while hands flew to comfortable places, like the base of a neck, around a waist or even held tightly onto a strap of a tank top. Their bodies rocked with the rhythm of their breathless kiss, as tongues caressed and danced in mouths. For a moment, both women felt as though they were completely isolated and kissing without purpose. Somehow, every time they kissed, nothing else in the world seemed to matter and time simply stopped.

A rough sound of a throat being cleared interrupted their serenity, forcing the two of them back to reality. But before they came back completely, Regina leaned closer to the blonde and nipped at her bottom lip before pulling away, leaving a little bit of blood to trickle into Emma's mouth. She took Emma's hand once again with a little more confidence than before and looked to the man with his back towards them.

"Are you quite finished?" Rumple asked with a deep annoyance in his voice.

"Uh, sure…" Emma awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, enjoying her experience far more than she ever thought she would. "Did you get enough magic from that? It was only a quick one."

"A _quick one_? Dearie, you do realise that the two of you were away with the clouds for five minutes and forty-six seconds, do you not?" Emma pursed her lips into a tight 'O', while Regina successfully smirked at the Dark One as he re-joined them curbside once more. "I had enough true love from that to create our counter curse _and_ cast every single curse ever written."

"How long will _this_ counter curse take, Rumple?" Regina asked, already appearing to be bored of their whereabouts and Rumple's irritation, when in reality, she was the furthest thing from bored - she simply wanted to be rid of Rumple's company just to have her way with the blonde.

Ignoring the brunette once more, he pushed his way through Regina's garden gate and caused a little bit of ruckus just to scare Regina a little. The Mayor froze in panic at the thought of what was happening behind them, and her grip on Emma's hand tighten once again. She didn't want to think about the possibility of his counter curse failing. She most certainly couldn't dare to think of what would happen to her should she have to stay in Snow's apartment any longer. A week was a week too long already.

' _ **This is almost over, Regina. You're strong enough to get through this and you know it. You know that you can get through anything.**_ **We** _ **can get through anything together.'**_

She clutched Emma's hand tighter, then loosened her hold without actually letting go. She needed Emma to keep her sane - to keep her on the right tracks. Before she could stop it, her heart began beating faster than she ever recalled, and her breathing had become wracked and uneven.

Hearing the change in the other woman's breathing made Emma's instincts kick in faster than ever before. She wrapped her arms around Regina and held her as close and as tight as she possibly could. Her own heart raced with worry, but her breathing was steady enough for Regina to attempt to mimic. With every rise and fall of Emma's chest, Regina tried to follow. Even through Emma's whispers of sweet nothings and promises of tomorrow, Regina tried to keep herself grounded and calm without having a complete anxiety attack.

"Madam Mayor, your yard is empty, once again." Rumple announced as he let himself out of Regina's yard after what felt like an eternity. He glanced at the two women, feigning his concern. He nodded at Emma, almost as if to question the Mayor's stability. When Emma nodded in return he tilted his head to the floor and took his leave, assumingly to return to the station to keep a watchful eye on the Blue Fairy and Hayden.

"You're safe, and they're gone, Regina." Emma soothed the brunette as she traipsed her hands up and down Regina's back. "Come on, let's go make you some coffee."

*#*#*#*

When Rumple arrived back at the station to resume his post in front of the Blue Fairy and Hayden in their holding cells, he hadn't expected to bump into a very nervous looking Snow White. She wrung her hands in front of her as she paced back and forth through the hallway that led into the station. Her distress practically filled the building.

"Don't worry yourself too much, dearie," Rumple chided after deciding that he had seen too much. "You already lost so much hair from Regina's _wonderful_ curse. You wouldn't want to lose anymore over her, now would you?"

Snow sharply turned to face him with an emotional snuffle. Somewhere in her short time at the station, she had started to cry over her mind blowing situation.

"How did you know that I'm here about Regina?" She wiped her nose with the palm of her hand and stopped her pacing.

"We do actually communicate, dear."

"Oh, yeah. Right, of course." She babbled as she followed the former Dark One towards the opening of the station, where they were greeted by a very exhausted looking Leroy.

"I've been in those cages, you know. They're not going to get out without magic." He grumbled as he collected his stuff to leave. He had sat alone in the station all night by request of the acting Sheriff to make sure that they were fed and safely locked away in their allocated cells. "All the magic that you've got surrounding them and all you seem to be worried about is them getting loose. It's impossible."

Rumple ignored the former dwarf and waited for him to leave the building before he looked back at the worried woman. He knew exactly what was happening with her, he just hadn't made a plan to attempt to relieve the poor woman.

"So, you've still got a very _blue_ feeling about Emma and Regina, do you not?"

"True love's kiss didn't even work, and Regina said that there's nothing she could do about it. She even said that you couldn't either, but Rumple, this needs to go. Emma is moving in with Regina today - I need to be _me_ for that. I can't miss any more milestones in her life."

"The only thing I can suggest, dearie, would be very disapproving of your husband and this investigation." He wandered into Sheriff Swan's office and collected a wooden box that sat atop of Emma's incredibly messy desk. A heavy lock hung from the front of it as it pulsed with glistening magic. "We're just going to have to give our dear blue friend her magic back for a while."

Snow stared at him. She knew the consequences that this could put on her husband's case. If they gave Blue her magic back, even if it was just for a short while, they could cause so much more trouble than it was technically worth. She _could_ wait for this all to be over, but as a mother that had already missed so much in her daughter's life, she needed to be there for this. She had to willingly help her daughter settle in.

"Do you think this is safe, Rumple?"

He shook his head. "Probably not, but we've got to try it, haven't we?" He handed Snow the box and swiftly turned to Blue's cell, which he unlocked with a flick of his wrist. "Come on, dearie. We've got some _chores_ for you today."

*#*#*#*

"Thank you, Emma." Regina sighed into her steaming mug of black coffee. The aroma filled her nostrils with a comforting scent that Regina always connected with her home. It's earthy and natural tones had filled the entire ground floor and somehow managed to travel up the stairs every morning for almost twenty-nine years. For a long while, it had been the only thing that would coerce her to actually leave her bed.

Emma smiled at the brunette as she held the mug to her mouth with a sadly reminiscent look on her face. Regina Mills was still a complete puzzle to her; there were so many things that Emma didn't know about the other woman, but the sight before her, like their kisses over the last few days, was filled with promise of a happy and content future. Even the constant glow Regina seemed to have since they arrived home from the hospital was filled with happiness.

"I will say this to you for the rest of our lives if I have to, but happiness looks good on you, Mayor Mills."

Regina lowered the mug to the counter and let herself openly smile. If happiness looked as good on her as it felt, then Regina felt that she looked radiant.

"I could say the same about yourself, Miss Swan." She reached over the counter and entwined her fingers with Emma's. "How would you like the grand tour of _our_ home?"

*#*#*#*

Rumple dragged the Blue Fairy into the questioning room by her forearm. She violently threw her limbs around as she attempted to kick herself free of his hold. She had even thrown around a few curse words that made Snow cringe. He pushed her into the chair behind the metal table that Snow had placed the box atop of. With another gentle flick of his wrist, the Blue Fairy found herself pulled tightly to the chair without the ability to move an inch of her body. The only thing she could find movement in was her head.

"What do you want from me, Dark One?" She visibly attempted to thrash under her bounds in the chair, but never actually managed to move anywhere. "Let me go! You have no right to do this without the deputies!"

"This has nothing to do with them," He told her, as he leaned onto the box that contained her magic. "This is all between you and me. And I have a very big favour to ask of you."

He gripped the lock on the front of the box and wriggled it temptingly. He watched as her eyes flicked onto the lock, then to him, then to Snow, and back onto the lock again. He grinned at her, knowing how she would oblige faster that the beat of her cold heart. Fairies were far too narcissistic when it came to their magic. And Blue – well, she was just a narcissist in general.

"Snow wants her mind free of your spell, dearie. If I give you your magic back, you need to break her curse and give her a clear mind again."

"How clear do you want her mind, Rumple?" She snarled, but reigned it in once she saw the Dark One's unimpressed glare and Snow's terrified look.

"Reverse the spell and I won't have to crush your magic in the palm of my hand, because believe me, I would get more than a thrill out of it."

She nodded and hung her head onto her chest. Her magic was everything. If Rumple destroyed her magic, her life would as they knew it, would cease to exist.

Rumple jiggled the lock on the box once more. The hinge flew open and the lid of the box fell backwards, creating an echoing crash as it ricocheted off the back of the wooden back pannel. Inside, the sphere of blue magic bounced animatedly.

"Any funny business, and I _will_ retrieve it and destroy it faster than a flutter of your tiny little moth wings. If you proceed with this task as we have asked, I will try to ensure that your magic remains intact after this investigation. Do we have a deal?" His slimy grin made Snow shiver, and Blue reverted to her more acquiescing demeanour with a nod.

He placed his hand beneath the sphere and coerced it out of the box and into his hand. He pressed two fingers of his spare hand into the fairy's temple and removed the strong binds around the woman before he handed over her most powerful possession. Snow and Rumple stood back and watched as the fairy-nun held the pulsing sphere between her two hands. She squeezed and allowed the sphere to pop into a gas in a much less elegant way than Charlotte had done on the previous day.

With a deep breath, the Blue Fairy inhaled her magical abilities. Her eyes fluttered as she forced herself not to sneeze or give in to the spine tingling pain that coursed through her body. Her eyes lit up with the colour of her magic as it sank into her being. Once the magic had settled and her body had stopped wracking against the table and chair, she held her dizzying head tight between her hands.

"How wonderful," Rumple muttered with a sadistic smile. He ushered Snow across the room to stand beside the recovering Fairy. "Blue, if you would."

The Blue Fairy stood on unsure legs and placed her hands on Snow's shoulders for stability. She fought the swaying sensation that had tried to overwhelm her body, but stared at the brunette in front of her to remain concentrated and waited for her body to regain its confidence.

With a gentle touch, Blue placed two fingers on either side of Snow's head. She pushed on her temples and unwillingly pulled the magic that resided in Snow's mind and body. The quantity of magic that she had so effortlessly poured into her friend's body was overwhelming. From what she had counted, it took a little over three and a half minutes to fully extract the unwanted magic from Snow's tiny body.

When the last flutter of magic sprang to Blue's fingertips, she disappeared in a puff of smoke and left Snow to drop roughly to her knees.

"Where is she?" Snow gasped in pain. Her mind felt empty of any intruder, and her knees throbbed from the impact, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking of the whereabouts of her winged friend.

"Not to worry, dearie." Rumple uttered as he graciously helped Snow return to her feet. "She's already stripped of her magic and back in her little cell. She is far too predictable; that's why all magic comes with a price!"

*#*#*#*

By the time Emma and Regina had made their way around the house, and Emma had seen multiple rooms that she didn't even know existed (like Henry's den, the library, and even Regina's cider cellar), Snow and Charming had arrived with three very excitable children. When they welcomed them into the house, Emma could swear that Charlotte felt the same way she did - terrified, nervous and completely exhilarated. They both knew that this was going to be a bigger step for the two of them than it would be for Regina, Henry and Amira; Emma and Charlotte knew what it felt like to be unwanted in the world, whereas Regina and Henry were already a family, and Amira was too young to feel the sting of being an orphan.

Henry insisted that he showed Charlotte around the house before any of the grown-ups started _bossing them around_ about piling in the moving things.

"Which room is Charlotte gonna have, mom?" Henry shouted down the staircase as he pulled the girl by her arm behind him. He didn't see the nervousness written all over her face.

"Whichever one she chooses, darling." Regina replied to him, before lowering her voice to Emma. "Do you think you could make sure Charlotte is okay? She looked a little anxious."

Emma nodded and happily handed a babbling Amira over to the other woman. She took the stairs two-by-two and joined the children as she overheard Charlotte and Henry talking about which room would be suitable for the teenager.

"Honestly, Henry, I would just be grateful to have a small room that is close to Amira so I can make sure she doesn't cry for your moms during the night." She wrung her hands in front of her and tried to smile at the boy.

"But we've got loads of rooms - we have four spare bedrooms that are all the same size!" He spotted Emma behind Charlotte. "Ma, tell Charlotte that she can't make one of the studies her bedroom."

The blonde smiled at her son before lifting Charlotte's chin for the girl to look at her. "Don't alienate yourself, kid. This is crazy for me too, but Regina wants the both of us to be happy and comfortable here, and when you actually see the size of this place, you're really not going to be happy with a broomstick cupboard for a bedroom." Charlotte's eyes dropped. She couldn't find it in herself to pull away from the blonde, but she didn't want to look at her either. "Hey. You're a part of the family, now. You're as much our kid as Henry is, so I want you to choose out of the four spare bedrooms which one you would like to make your own, okay? And it doesn't have to be near Amira's room, because she's going to be mine and Regina's responsibility."

Charlotte blushed and nodded in Emma's hand. When she saw the woman smile, she wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist and bit back the tears that were threatening to spill. "Thank you, Sheriff Swan."

Emma's melodic laughter rang through the hallway as she wrapped her own arms around the teenager's shoulders. "You can stop calling me Sheriff Swan, you know. You _can_ call me Ma..." She paused, reminding herself not to overwhelm the teenager too much. Searching for a runaway teenager was not on her list of things to do today. "Or Emma, if you'd like?"

The teenager pulled away from her soon-to-be adoptive mother with a sniffle and a smile. "I'll stick with Emma for now."

"Okay," Emma grinned. "So, which one's gonna be yours, kid?"

Charlotte paced the hallway and stuck her head into each of the available bedrooms. She hovered around the bedroom that faced onto the garden for a while, then grinned at Emma once she had made her decision. "I think I'd like this one to be mine."

The three exchanged high-fives about her quick decision before making their way back down the stairs, where they found Regina swaying in the living room doorway with Amria in her arms. The toddler had clearly worn herself out to exhaustion with the excitement of it all. Regina unconsciously hummed lullabies to the child above the whispers from inside the room.

"Hey," Emma whispered as she wrapped her arms around Regina's waist and allowed her front to melt into the brunette's back. She placed a kiss on an olive cheek before resting her chin over Regina's shoulder. "What's going on?"

She watched her father pick up multiple planks of wood in utter confusion before putting them back on the floor and scratching his head. They watched him stare at screws and an instruction manual before Regina replied in her own gentle whisper.

"Your father retrieved Henry's Grow-With-Me crib from the garage, but can't seem to put it together." Regina smiled to herself. "Even without magic I managed to assemble this with a screaming child in a papoose on my chest, but your father seems to be having a few difficulties with the lack of pictures."

Emma held back a scoff. "So why aren't you telling him where parts go?"

"It's much more entertaining this way."

"Who said you weren't evil anymore?" Emma joked and Regina actually grinned, much to their own surprises.

"That would be you, dear."

They swayed together and watched Charming attempt to put the crib together in the short time that Henry and Charlotte were running around the first floor on Henry's pit stop tour of the house. They even managed to hear Henry's warning of _awesomeness_ before he showed the teen his den. Emma laughed when she heard the same gasping reaction from Charlotte as she had provided on her own tour of their new home. There was so much to take in that she almost felt overwhelmed, but with Regina constantly at her side, her ability to remain calm was impeccable.

On their last stop of the house, Henry introduced Charlotte to the living room as they ducked and squeezed past their parents. Before he could show Charlotte his favourite games console that he was allowed to keep in the living room, Charming waved him over to help.

"Since you're the man of the house, how about we do some building?" Henry looked at his grandfather with an unimpressed raised eyebrow. "You'll have plenty of time to show Charlotte around. Come on, I'll teach you how to put up a crib."

Henry laughed and took the screws and instructions from his grandfather. "This is simple, Gramps." He handed Charming one of the bigger pieces of the crib and effortlessly worked his way through the instructions, assembling it in mere minutes.

"Even our eleven year old is smarter than both of your parents put together." Regina whispered to the blonde on her shoulder, trying her hardest not to laugh out loud and wake the sleeping child in her arms. "Not that I'm surprised at all."

"The kid _must_ have inherited that from me and one of my ancestors." The brunette scoffed, but Emma only continued. "Or it could have been the curse's gift - smarts for the people who weren't affected by it."

"Are you calling _me_ an idiot too, Miss Swan?"

"Well, you must be for falling for _their_ offspring." She teased and kissed the brunette's cheek again. "How about some lunch before we actually start moving in?"

*#*#*#*

"Regina, could I have a word?" Charming asked once everyone had finished their lunch and Emma was entertaining Charlotte and Henry while her mother watched over with a sad smile. The brunette nodded and followed him to the bottom of the staircase, where he sat down and prompted her to join him.

"Is everything okay?" She asked, feeling slightly nervous about his pretence.

"I just wanted to discuss what we found yesterd-"

"Ruby has already informed me what you found," She stood again and tried to dismiss whatever it was that he was about to say by brushing invisible lint off of her pants. She didn't want to know of the sick and twisted plans Hayden had mapped out in his journal. "There's nothing else I need to know about your investigation, Deputy."

"I think you should know about what we found in his journal." He pulled out his cell phone and opened an image to show to the brunette. "These were some of the photographs we found inside the book."

Reluctantly, Regina took the cell phone and glanced at the image on the screen. "It's us," She breathed a sigh of relief as a slight smile of relief graced her lips. She swiped her finger on the screen to see the following image. Like the last, this photograph showed herself and Emma walking through the streets of Storybrooke together just hours after arriving home from Neverland. They both had the faintest smiles on their faces as they chatted. "But if… if he didn't want us together, why are all of these photos of us?"

"We're not sure." He huffed with a shrug as he watched Regina continue to skim through the photographs. "The journal isn't even of his thoughts - it's just things that Mother Superior told him. There's a page where she tells him about how you and Emma were destined to break a curse once we returned from Neverland. He writes about how Mother Superior hated the idea of you being true loves and soul mates because you didn't deserve your happy ending. That's when he writes about how he intended to make the Blue Fairy happy with our family again."

"Do you think she knew he would react in the way he did?" She handed the cell phone back to Charming and folded her arms over her chest.

He shrugged again. "We're not going to know that until we interview her again on Monday, but I don't think so. I think her only intention was to convince Emma to leave you through the control of Snow. I don't think she knew about any of it. She had her own plans for the two of you. But she might have found out after we found Emma - but that's still just a suspicion."

Regina looked at Charming with a pensive look. It made sense that the Fairy knew nothing of what was happening in the basement of the Children's Home. She was more than stunned when their rabble had stormed into the chapel's service after they learnt of Emma's disappearance. She definitely wasn't expecting company, and most importantly, she wasn't expecting theirs.

"Thank you, Charming." She said as the information swirled around in her head.

Charming smiled at the brunette and stood. "We should probably start moving everyone's stuff in, otherwise we're going to be here all night. You and Emma still need to be resting, so an early night should do you some good."

"I may be dating your daughter, Charming, but there's no need to use those parenting books on me." She teased him as the two walked back through to the kitchen to round up their family.

As Regina began clearing the table of their lunch plates and dishes, Snow offered to drive Emma to the apartment to retrieve her daughter's belongings, while Charming suggested he ought to take Charlotte to the Children's Home to pack up her own and Amira's things from their bedrooms. Henry insisted that he would help Charlotte with her things, which then left Regina alone while Amira snored in her new crib.

It was the first time, really, that she had been alone since she found out that Emma was missing. The silence that had fallen on the mansion wasn't welcome for the first time in the whole twenty-nine years she had lived in it. It was eerie and completely empty. No sound of excited feet echoed around the hallways, no laughter rang in her ears and no child giggled or babbled happily in the background. Her home was empty, and she hated it.

The thought of the people that would be inhabiting it with herself and her son made her heart swell. Each new inhabitant had their own strong personalities that she knew would fill the home more than just her and Henry's ever would on their own.

With a smile, she wandered through the kitchen, picking up every crumb or imperfection. She opened the windows into the garden and allowed the gusty autumn breeze to whistle through the house. By the time she had adjusted everything to her liking on the first floor, a knock at the door pulled her out of her hour of silence.

Hastily, she crossed the hallway from Henry's den and pulled the front door open to reveal a very awkward looking Emma Swan.

"Why did you knock?" Regina asked with an amused smile as she took the box Emma was struggling to carry and put it down at the bottom of the stairs.

"I wasn't ready to just let myself in," she rubbed the back of her neck and tried to hide her blush. "This is gonna take a while to get used to."

Regina smiled and nodded. She understood, and knew that the embarrassment on Emma's face was enough to tell her not to ask any questions. "Shall we go get the rest of your boxes?"

"Sure," Emma said, taking the lead back towards her mother's car. "There's just another three boxes and a few clothes that I just left on hangers."

The brunette took one of the boxes handed to her from inside Snow's Prius and picked up a handful of clothes on hangers, most of which were her own to begin with. She even picked up on Emma's nervous exterior as she, Emma and Snow all made their way up the garden path.

' _ **Why do you look like you're about to sit the biggest examination of your life, Miss Swan? You look terrified.'**_

' _ **It's nothing.'**_

Regina turned around to see the blonde behind her and raised an unimpressed eyebrow, letting Emma know that they would most certainly be discussing the topic later. It was clearly not _nothing_.

"That's everything," Snow said as she stacked her box and the rest of Emma's clothes on top of everything the three of them had brought in. "It's not a lot, Em. Are you sure that's everything from the apartment?"

"That's everything."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Yes, mom. I'm sure that these boxes are everything I own." Emma said sharply to her mother. She grabbed as many pieces of clothing she could and stormed up Regina's grand staircase.

Snow watched after her with a slack jaw and a very disappointed look. ' _There it is…_ ' Regina thought to herself, ' _I guess we're going to be having this conversation now, Miss Swan_.'

"What did I do?" She asked the older brunette.

With a pitying smile, Regina picked up two of Emma's boxes and started climbing the stairs. "You did nothing; I'll speak to her." She paused and observed the woman from her head to her feet. "Is it gone?"

Snow nodded.

"Do I need to know how?"

"Probably not."

Regina pursed her lips, but refused to question it. She glanced over in direction of the living room, where Amira still lay fast asleep, then glanced back down at Snow. "Do you think you could watch Amira for a moment?"

Snow nodded again and found her way to the living room as Regina continued climbing the staircase and pushed open her bedroom door to find Emma silently sitting on the end of the Queen sized bed with a vacant expression. She dropped the boxes by the side of Emma's pile of clothes that had just been dumped on the floor and joined the woman on the bed.

"I'm assuming your mother answered my question," Regina started. Emma's sarcastic, breathy laugh put her off from saying anything else.

Emma sighed and slumped onto her elbows. "That's all I have," she gestured to the pile of belongings on the floor. "That's all I need."

Regina placed her hand on the bottom of Emma's back. "Why does it matter how many possessions you have?" Regina asked honestly. She, for one, had always been a sucker for sentimental objects and belongings, but never really thought of them as her _possessions_.

"It really says a lot about my life, don't you think?" It was a rhetorical question, but Regina seriously wanted to argue it. "Do you wanna know why I don't have a lot of stuff?"

The blonde's voice was nasty, and sharp, and in all honesty, Regina actually felt worried about the other woman. Clearly this had all been too much for one day for Emma.

"When you're living in a car and sleeping in the backseat, or bouncing between motels or prison cells or even foster homes, it's a bit difficult to start collecting things, especially when you don't know how long you're going to be in one place." The pain in Emma's voice was audible and it felt like a kick in the stomach for the brunette.

"Can I tell you one thing?" Regina asked as she tried to ignore the pain in her heart for the other woman. Emma looked up at her with tears in her eyes. "You're not going to be bouncing between anywhere again, Emma. I couldn't bear to think of what it would be like to be without you again."

Emma rolled her eyes and pushed herself off the bed to walk towards one of the boxes Regina brought up before crouching beside it. "Do you wanna know how many times people have welcomed me into their homes and told me that I'd never end up on the streets again? Thirty-nine. Thirty-nine different families and foster parents took me in and threw me back out again because I was never good enough. We all heard that my parents just _can't wait_ to start their family together - even they don't want me, and who's to say that you're not going to get bored of me too? I'll just be a novelty and a bed warmer by the end of the month."

Regina pushed herself off the bed faster than Emma had done and pulled the blonde up by her arm. Fury had begun radiating from the brunette in a way that Emma had only read about in Henry's storybook. In every essence of her being, Regina looked like the Evil Queen once again.

"Don't you dare." She warned, pointing a finger into the blonde's face, just millimetres away from her nose. "Don't you dare pull that on me ever again, Miss Swan. I have already told you that you are the one thing that is keeping me sane in this godforsaken town. You are the one thing in this world that keeps me from reverting to the Evil Queen-"

"Oh, so I'm supposed to be some evil-blocker for you, am I? Is that all I am to you? Some sort of defence against you turning into the Evil Queen again?" Emma tried to pull away from Regina's tight grip on her arm, but found no freedom in it.

"That is not what I mean, and you know it. Our lives have already been mapped out by destiny, and unfortunately for you, you're stuck with me. We're each other's _soul mates_ , Emma. We have the strongest romantic bound possible - not only are we connected by true love, we're also soul mates." Regina waited for a slight reaction from the blonde. When Emma's face softened somewhat, she continued. "Nothing can break the love that we have; nothing is going be able to get between us. We're still going to fight and have screaming matches - probably just as much as we did before any of this happened, but it's never going to be enough to justify one of us leaving. I want you because I love you, Emma."

She let go of Emma's arm and allowed her eyes to linger on the blonde's face before turning to leave the bedroom. She couldn't find it in herself to fight with the woman in that moment. When her fingers reached out the door handle, a cold hand wrapped around her wrist making her pause.

Emma sighed. "Regina, I'm sorry. Please… look at me…" Regina bit her tongue and slowly turned to face the other woman; she didn't look at her - she couldn't. Emma opened her mouth to say something, before abruptly shutting it again. She thought about what she could say and opened her mouth again, but nothing came out.

"What, Emma?" The brunette asked, sounding more annoyed than she actually felt. She was, however, terrified that Emma was going to tell her that she didn't want any of this to be happening.

"I… I'm sorry. I really am. I… God, Regina this is so hard." She took a deep breath and moved her hand from Regina's wrist to take hold of her hand, much to the reluctance of the brunette. "And I love you, Regina, but I'm just so fucking scared, you know? I can't believe that I haven't run yet, and I'm just scared that something is just going to get too real and that I'll wake up in some different city with my memory and magic gone completely while you, and Henry, and the girls are here without me. I need you to keep me grounded. I need you to keep me here. We've already been through too much for me to even process, but somehow, I'm still here..."

Regina looked at the blonde this time - she actually looked at her. She saw the tired and frustrated lines on her forehead and beneath her eyes. She saw the emptiness and heartbreak in the blonde's deep green eyes; she even saw the truth behind them. It wasn't difficult to see any of the blonde's inner thoughts and fears from this point of view, but if she took a step backwards, she knew that Emma's strong mask would hide it all again.

"I'm scared too," Regina said as she placed a hand that wasn't being held onto Emma's cheek. She caressed the blonde's cheekbone for a moment as she allowed their silence to engulf them. "But if we're honest with each other and open about every little discomfort, I'm sure we'll be just fine. This is going to be a big change for all of us, but it will be the best change that any of us have been through. Everything changes for a reason."

Emma finally smiled at the brunette and pecked Regina on her lips. "I wanna show you something." She let go of Regina's hand and pulled open the nearest box, ignoring Regina's amused huff at her immediate change of attitude. "I've never shown anyone this, but I know it's something you'll cherish."

Regina watched as Emma dug through the box to pull out a small piece of white card. Emma held it to her chest with both hands and took a deep breath before she handed it over. As Regina took it and saw at what it actually was, she gasped. Her hand slapped directly onto her mouth as she looked onto the black and white image.

"Is this…?" She asked and Emma nodded with a smile. Regina's reaction was everything she hoped it would have been and more. The brunette sighed and let out a quiet sob. "Oh my goodness."

She glided her thumb across the glossy sonogram of her son without holding back any of the tears that had pooled in her eyes. Her memories of Henry's adoption came flooding back, more specifically, the day she first laid her eyes on him. He was tiny, and innocent, and _pink_. But _this_ , this image of her tiny, unborn son was the most amazing thing she had ever seen.

"I was about twenty-six weeks when this was done." She stood next to the brunette and tentatively wrapped her arm around her waist. "The, uh, first one I had done was torn by my cellmate, he looked like a tiny jelly bean... but by the time I had this one done she was gone and he actually looked like a baby. It was the last time I saw him until he turned up at my apartment in Boston. I'm not sure why, or what, but something made me keep it, and I'm glad I did now."

"This is amazing, Emma." She smiled down at the image of their son before glancing up and Emma and sharing the same smile with her. They both knew that they still had so many hurdles to jump over, but their neutral ground would always be their son, and their new children, they supposed. They would always be able to see the light at the end of dark tunnels when they knew they had their children to think about.

The sound of the front door slamming jolted the two women out of their little Henry induced daze. With a gentle kiss on the cheek, Emma took the sonogram from Regina and placed it in a gap between the mirror and its frame that hung on the bedroom wall. Regina smiled at the action and opened the door of their bedroom to head downstairs to meet Charming, Henry and Charlotte, who were carrying as many things as their little arms would allow.


	27. Little Lies

**CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - Little Lies**

Ruby tiredly dropped down into her desk chair and kicked her feet up onto the table. She groaned as the clock ticked to 9am. Apparently, policing was far more exhausting than running tables at Granny's. Even with the previous day off, she felt as though she hadn't actually left the damn place over the last few days. She couldn't even shut off and stop thinking about the investigation because she couldn't stop worrying about Snow's mental disposition on the investigation and Emma herself. She didn't even want to think about Emma in this whole debacle.

She rocked her chair as a distraction from the two suspects in the holding cells beside her and the job in hand. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Hayden trying to shout something at her and tried her hardest to ignore his silent taunts. If she wound him up before Charming arrived, their day would just get a whole lot harder, even though they all knew that it wasn't exactly going to be a walk in the park anyway.

"Morning, Ruby," Charming chirped at 9:30am when he finally strolled into the station. "Sorry I'm late. I had to pick up a few things from the store to make sure Emma and Regina's fridge and cupboards were actually stocked – they're probably not going to be leaving the mansion at any point today."

Ruby smiled at him. "So are they official now?"

He nodded. "Yep. Emma officially lives in the Mayoral Mansion and Regina's secretary is taking adoption papers over to the house this afternoon." He dropped himself onto his own chair with his own equally exhausted huff. "The five of them will officially be a proper family by tonight."

"Wow… We haven't even convicted the idiot that caused all this trouble and they're too busy thinking about their friggin' honeymoon." Ruby had to laugh; if they were still in the Enchanted Forest and two people found out that they were true loves, they would have be married within a few days, so this shouldn't have been a surprise.

"Slow down, Rubes. Emma moved out _yesterday_ , we don't need to be discussing wedding and honeymoon possibilities just yet…"

The brunette in the corner of the station laughed at her colleague and close friend. He was right, but this was Emma and Regina, they had already done everything backwards. They shared a son before they had even met, then moved in together, they were about to adopt two other children, and now, the only thing left, in Ruby's mind, was a wedding. Nothing ever worked in Storybrooke the way it ideally should, and nothing between Emma and Regina would work in any other way than crazy.

Charming rummaged through the documents on his desk, looking for his black notebook. When he found it awkwardly stuffed in Saturday's sandwich container, he flicked through the pages trying to find the set of questions he had written out for their morning session with the Blue Fairy. As he found it, Rumple hobbled in with a sick smile on his face.

Rumple bid his good mornings as Charming bookmarked the pages. He tucked the notebook under his arm as he instructed Ruby to unlock the Blue Fairy's holding cell and drag her into their questioning room. Ruby repeated their confirmation details for the tape recorder while Rumple happily poured out three large cups of coffee. When he joined the former werewolf, prince and fairy-nun in the questioning room, he handed the deputies their coffee and happily sat in the corner of the room to watch the fairy squirm under some serious scrutiny.

"I'd like to start this interview on a better foot than the last time," Charming told her before taking a large sip of his coffee. "After our first interview, we questioned Hayden, as I'm sure you've already guessed by now. He told us a few things that didn't quite match up with the things that _you_ had already said to us. So, I would very much like for this interview to go smoothly and honestly, otherwise I'm still going to have to prosecute you under the pretenses of withholding information from an official investigation."

Everyone in the room could visibly see the woman bite the inside of her cheek. The only person that could see her internal struggle, however, was Rumple. She nodded before verbally confirming their agreement. "I understand, Sheriff."

"Thank you," he said as he opened his notebook to find his questions once more. "My first question is regarding the key to the basement. I want the truth of it this time… Who has a key to the basement in the Children's Home?"

Blue sighed and looked down at the table between them. She squeezed her eyes shut in defiance, but couldn't control her mouth. "Hayden has the only key to the basement beneath the Children's Home's kitchen."

Charming ticked off his question in his notebook with a smile, still completely oblivious to Blue's struggle. "Perfect. Do you know how regularly Hayden is using the basement?"

Squint. "Every day between Monday and Friday. Those are his chore days."

Tick. "And what does he do on those chore days? Is he given specific jobs to do?"

"He's our handyman. He fixes things that are broken; he changes light bulbs and paints when we need him to." The Blue Fairy painfully bit her tongue, but her mouth had other plans. "During the summer he helps Leroy with the landscaping and he is rewarded by being granted permission to perform magic in the basement."

She slammed her hand to her mouth and glared over at the Dark One in the corner of the room. Rumple smirked at her and sipped at his coffee, pleading as much ignorance to her glare as Charming. Ruby, however, was slowly beginning to catch on.

"Interesting. Did you ever give him any lessons, or did he just learn from spell books?"

She cringed and bit her bottom lip until her mouth was magically pried open to spill her secrets. "I taught him a lot of what he knows, but sometimes, he would just the basement to practice and read from spell books."

Charming hummed, as he scribbled down a few notes along with his on-the-spot question. "At any point, have you discussed Emma and Regina with Hayden?"

"No." The fairy managed to stutter, before her body lurched forward and her mouth betrayed her. "Yes."

Ruby raised her eyebrows - first at the Blue Fairy, then at Charming. Something weird was happening and in her eyes, Charming was too oblivious with getting his own way that he failed to pay any attention to the fairy's abnormal behaviour.

"Hayden and I discussed in depth about Regina and Emma, both before and after their curse broke." The Blue Fairy tried to keep her hands over her mouth, but whatever it was that was holding her against her will refused to let her remain quiet.

Charming nodded at her. "What did you discuss?"

"We discussed that there had been a prophecy that talked about Emma and Regina breaking a curse, and how it should have been impossible with Regina's in-capabilities of love." Her body warped with a strong resistance, but her voice flowed calmly through her mouth. "We discussed how Regina's love in the Enchanted Forest was cursed - everyone she loved died, and Emma is still alive, so we concluded that Regina doesn't actually love her."

Charming nodded and pulled out an evidence bag from his pocket, revealing Hayden's journal, ignoring Ruby's incessant use of his name for attention.

"Do you recognise this?" He placed it on the table in front of her. She nodded her head. "This is Hayden's personal journal. In this book, we found his recollections of a few conversations that the two of you had regarding the prophecy between Emma and Regina. Let me read something for you; you may recall the conversation before this documentation."

Charming cleared his throat and skipped to his chosen page in the journal.

"' _The Charmings have arrived home with the Mayor and Emma's son. E and M were spotted walking down Main Street with H. Both smiling and walking close to each other. Photos attached. Mother Superior isn't happy. E is in danger. N and E are soul mates.'_ " Charming looked up at the fairy to see her scowl at him.'"

"That was taken out of context."

"All of this is being taken out of context," Ruby interrupted. She pulled the journal from Charming's hand and whacked his shoulder with it. "Why is it that you're only paying attention to the things that you want to hear and see?!"

"Deputy Lucas, if you don't stand down, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." He warned her with a professional tone in his voice.

"David, look at what's really in front of you," with a quick gesture to a very irritated fairy, Ruby put her hand on Charming's shoulder and tried to shake him out of his rose-tinted glasses. "She's telling you everything you want to hear. You don't know if it's the truth, you're just taking it all and accepting it just because she's telling you it. Then there's the fact that she clearly doesn't want to be saying the things that are coming from her mouth. Quit being an idiot! This interview has been corrupted in one way or another."

She glanced over her shoulder at Rumple as he pulled his cup to his mouth again.

"Ruby, who do you really think would do something to jeopardize this interview?"

" _David_ , Rumple was the only one here yesterday. He's the only one around here that would get a kick out of cursing or enchanting Blue. For all we know he could have just put a truth spell on her, and if that's the case, this isn't fair."

"Well, she's legally bound to tell the truth, so who cares if she's bound magically too?" Charming asked her in a tone that Ruby had never heard from him before. He was far too laid back for this.

"I care!" Blue willingly shouted this time.

Ruby turned in her chair to face Rumple. "Is she under a truth spell?"

Rumple's sadistic giggle echoed through the questioning room. "I just thought Mother Superior would like to have a taste of her own medicine. Now, it's her that doesn't have the capability of voicing what she truly wants to say and think."

Charming raised his eyebrows at the Dark One. He looked slightly impressed at his initiative, much to Ruby's surprise.

"I think we should resume the interview under these pretenses, Rubes. We need the truth, and someone needs to be punished for what happened to Emma." He looked at the Blue Fairy's threatening glare, then at Ruby's softening one. "If she's actually done nothing wrong, then she's got nothing to worry about."

Reluctantly, Ruby nodded and waved her hand to allow him to continue his questioning.

"Now, where were we…?" He muttered to himself as he browsed his questions again. "Ah, gotcha! Okay, why weren't you in a very happy disposition when Emma and Regina arrived back in Storybrooke?"

"I knew that they were going to end up breaking the curse soon after they arrived home, and that would have impacted my intentions to alienate Regina from your family." Blue slammed her fist on the table in anger. This was frustrating.

"If you didn't believe that Regina was capable of love, why did you believe the prophecy? Prophecies only have the _potential_ of coming true - they aren't bound by destiny."

"Because this wasn't just one prophecy it was recurring. It was destined to happen at some point unless all possibilities were blown out of the water." Blue winced, and Ruby didn't understand why she was still fighting it. No matter what was asked, the spell would make sure she answered truthfully. "In _our_ world, Regina never deserved a happy ending. I don't believe that the Evil Queen should ever have a happy ending. She ruined and ended so many lives. She took away thousands of happy endings and now she's pretending to be a martyr. What's the difference in this world?"

"Regina isn't the Evil Queen anymore, that's the difference." Ruby insisted, finally joining in to defend her friends.

"Did you tell Hayden what you think of Regina?" Charming asked.

"Yes. But I suppose that it's common knowledge that I don't approve of the Mayor." She leaned back in her chair and let her head fall in frustration.

The acting Sheriff continued to scribble a few words in his notebook, occasionally glancing up at the unimpressed fairy-nun. As he wrote, he asked: "Did you have any idea that Hayden wanted to _impress_ you by finding a way to change Emma's mind?"

She shook her head. "I hadn't a clue. He has always been attentive - if ever I was unhappy or disapproved of something, he would be there to fix it."

"His journal entries stopped after last Saturday - the day the curse broke." He looked up at the fairy again. Her face was expressionless this time. "Do you remember how he behaved that weekend?"

She shook her head again. "I don't remember seeing much of him or any of the other children. I spent a fair amount of time with your wife - consoling her after your daughter's eventful Saturday morning."

"Where you also cursed her, is that correct?"

"Yes." She said loudly through the hands that covered her mouth.

"Did you think helping to rekindle Emma and Neal's love would be for the good of Storybrooke?"

"Yes. It would be better than Emma and Regina's _romance_ , anyway." She covered her eyes. "He was her first love, so he seemed to be her only option."

Ruby groaned, but the warning look from Charming stopped her from opening her mouth to argue. She folded her arms and sulked back into her chair. It was too early in the morning to be having a screaming match with a fairy that couldn't say anything but the truth of what she thought.

"Did you discuss Emma's disappearance with Hayden at any point?" Charming asked her after a beat or two. The fairy squinted at him with a pained look.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes. When you were searching the grounds for the Saviour I called him to my office for a chat. He told me that he was conversing with her..." With every effort possible, Blue tried to pull her hands over her mouth, but failed. "He showed me a visual of Emma hanging from the ceiling in the basement. He told me that they had ' _played a little game of persuasion_ '."

This time, Charming's hand scrunched into huge fists. He slammed them down on the table, making the little plastic tape recorder fly into the air and crash back down again.

"You saw her like that and you didn't say anything? You could have saved her from this mess! You could have prevented her heart from stopping. My daughter practically died and _you_ stood by to watch it happen!"

"I didn't say anything because I was trying to protect Hayden!" She growled, and everyone knew that she was willing to tell the truth this time. "If I had handed him over to you on a plate, exactly how you wanted, you would have ripped him to shreds."

"Well, I know what I'd like to do with the both of you _now_ ," Ruby muttered under her breath, only loud enough for Blue to hear.

"It only would have been in retaliation of what he did to _my daughter_!" Charming growled. His head pounded with blood that coloured his cheeks and neck. His heart thumped heavily in his chest as his anger built while the veins in his neck protruded and beat in the same heavy rhythm. "He's only going to get what he deserves."

"I think we should call this a day, David." Ruby tried to hide her own anger, but seeing Charming so angry and upset only heightened her own annoyance. She tentatively placed a hand on his bicep. "Come on, I'll lock her back up, you go get some fresh air." She turned to face Rumple and pointed at him. "And you and I are gonna have a few words."

She knew that she had no higher authority over the two men, but her mind was in a steadier place than David's, and Rumple was looking far too proud with himself in the corner. She tugged the fairy up by her arm once more and aggressively dragged her out of the questioning room and back into her holding cell. She pushed the fairy inside and threw the cell gate shut with a deafening slam.

*#*#*#*

Regina rolled over in her heavenly Queen bed, still half asleep when she rolled on top of something else. _Someone_ else. Almost forgetting where she was, the brunette stirred from her slumber and attempted to peak out of her heavy lids. When she saw a tuft of blonde hair draped over her own pillow, she was brought back to reality with a smile. Waking up to the blonde in her bed would always be a welcome sight.

She shuffled her position in the bed to be able to wrap her arm around the blonde's slim frame. She pulled the woman gently towards her so her front and Emma's back became a seamless connection. As she held on tightly, Regina could feel the settling scar on Emma's stomach. She allowed her fingers to delicately trace the thick outline of the laceration over Emma's shirt. The wound was still far too deep for the things that the blonde was doing; ideally, she shouldn't have been traipsing back and forth the previous day unpacking her own and the girls' things. But, being the arrogant woman that she was, she even gave her father and Henry a hand with moving the full bed in Amira's room into the spare and moving the toddler's new crib up the staircase.

Abusing her healing process wasn't something Regina or Rumple recommended for the blonde, yet they all knew she would do whatever she wanted. And she did. Admittedly, Regina couldn't help but feel slightly grateful that she got to see the blonde back to her normal, physical self. Rumple's healing potion had already proved that it had returned much of the blonde's muscular physique - apart from the areas affected by the scarring; those areas would most definitely have to rebuild themselves over time.

With a content sigh and a soft kiss to the back of the blonde's shoulder, Regina allowed her head to comfortably settle back onto her pillow. She had imagined nights like this with Daniel long ago. She had imagined that they would happily lay together each night and simply fall asleep content. Yet, something in her heart told her that this was much more than content. Sleeping beside Emma proved how far the two of them had grown and changed in the last year. They had been through so much together and built a connection of trust that could never be replicated with anyone else.

Regina couldn't imagine what her life would have been like if Daniel hadn't been killed. She couldn't see herself ever enjoying life in the dark with a man who always agreed with her. Emma fought with her; they argued with each other, and teased one another, but neither woman ever allowed the other to feel like they had the upper hand, even before they broke their curse. Their relationship was a game that they both loved playing. Her relationship with Daniel had always been destined to be predictable and far too tame for Regina's desires.

The sound of a baby's cry screeched through the incredibly out-of-date baby monitors on each of the two nightstands. Emma flinched, but didn't wake as Regina tried to sneak out of the bed. She turned off both of the monitors and silently crept out of the bedroom. Daniel never would have given her _this_ , either.

As soon as she had closed the door to her and Emma's bedroom she rushed along the hallway to Amira's room, where the toddler had sat up in the crib and screamed like her life depended on it.

"Shh…" Regina hushed as she picked the little blonde infant out of the crib and snuggled her into her arms. "Shhh… Mommy's here." The brunette said instinctively. She smiled at the title she hadn't used in quite some time. Ignoring how much she longed to use the title again, the brunette rocked Amira in her arms, whispering hushed sweet nothings. There was nothing more that she wanted in that moment to be Amira's _mother_.

She looked over at the alarm clock on the dresser, feeling slightly surprised that it read 7am. Continuing to rock the now soothed infant that she had now cradled on her hip, Regina left Amira's room and descended the stairs to search for a sippy-cup suitable for the _technically_ two-year-old child.

As she searched, she happily babbled with the infant and laughed at the ridiculous things that the child was coming out with. The two bounced and giggled around the kitchen for a while, as Regina cleaned out a sippy-cup she had found in the back of one of the cupboards, completely oblivious to their blonde onlooker. It wasn't until Regina began singing to the infant as she sat her in the high-chair Snow and Charming had so kindly donated to them that she spotted Emma leaning on the doorframe with a grin on her face.

"Good morning," Emma practically sang to her as she pushed herself up to greet the brunette with a gentle peck on the lips. "I can't quite tell if you're a morning person or not or if it depends on the morning."

"You've got plenty of time to figure that one out," Regina smirked and returned Emma's light kiss. "Good morning to you too, dear."

Emma smiled at the brunette, then placed a dainty kiss onto Amira's _very_ blonde head. "Good morning, little miss!"

"'Ma!" She squeaked, showing the blonde her milk filled sippy-cup.

Regina raised her eyebrows at the older blonde. "Oh, so you're already Ma, huh?"

"Well, someone's already taken the 'mommy' title, apparently." Regina offered a questioning look at Emma as she ground a cup of coffee beans. "Those baby monitors don't tell lies, you know."

"That was instinctive…" Regina didn't even attempt to hide her ever growing blush and smile that graced her lips.

"It was cute," Emma offered as she pulled her and Regina's favourite mugs from the cupboard. "You definitely looked like a 'mommy' in that little scene this morning."

Regina hummed in acknowledgement as she brewed a pot of coffee for the two or them. "It almost feels like I'm falling back into old roles - except this time, I actually know what I'm supposed to be doing, and I have some help." She laughed to herself, remembering how long it had taken her to actually get to grips with the whole idea of parenting. Henry had been forgiving when she made mistakes, but with the knowledge that she had now, she wished that she had been able to give Henry that sort of experienced upbringing.

She and Emma chatted casually through the morning, preparing breakfast like they had been doing it for years, babbling with Amira, and even teased Charlotte and Henry as the two raced down the staircase and into the kitchen when the smell of bacon wafted throughout the house. The family of five sat together in the kitchen with their bacon and pancakes excitedly gossiping or listening to Henry as he rattled on about how _cool_ everything was going to be now that they were all living together and how much he would show Charlotte around the house, now that his mothers had agreed that he could have a _sick-day_ from school.

"So, which last name are the girls going to have when you sign their adoption papers later?" Henry asked his mothers out of nowhere. Emma coughed violently at the shock of the question, while Regina just peered over her coffee mug. "Or are they just gonna keep their own?"

"Uh, we don't actually have last names, Henry." Charlotte told him with a cringe. "Amira would have just been called Princess Amira the first of Asdal - because her parents were the King and Queen before they died in the same shipwreck that killed Queen Elsa's parents. And I would have just been known as Charlotte of Frell. The small village of Frell that I roamed was under the hand of Queen Regina," she blushed when the brunette lifted her face from her mug to listen tentatively.

"Frell as in the peasant country?" Regina asked, hating every word of the question.

Charlotte nodded. "My father was one of your faithful knights, while my mother fled to join Snow White's resistance, leaving me to fend for myself when I was very young. During my tenth winter, I received news that my father was killed by a resistance fighter in battle. Not long after, I heard word that my mother had then died of the cold and exposure. I had to take care of myself until a few days after my fourteenth birthday when the curse fell."

Regina reached across the table and took Charlotte's hand. The action alone was worth a thousand words, but the sad smile that accompanied it was worth a thousand more. She squeezed the strong teenager's hand but didn't let go.

"Well, I think we should join your names." Henry suggested as he unintentionally broke the silent tension that had fallen over them. "It could be Mills-Swan… No, wait. That sounds stupid… hm… How about… Swan-Mills?"

Emma smiled at her son. It was a mouthful, but it worked, and the girls would have both of their names. She glanced over to the brunette to look for confirmation, but Regina was already smiling at her.

"I like it." Regina and Charlotte said together.

"If the girls are gonna be Swan-Mills, can I?" Henry asked as casually as he could. The excitement in his voice, however, made it a little less convincing.

"I can't see why not." Regina said, still not taking her eyes away from the connection she had with Emma. "What do you think? Henry Swan-Mills, Charlotte Swan-Mills and Amira Swan-Mills; do you think it suits?"

If Regina hadn't been watching her every move, Emma knew that she probably would have rubbed her glistening eyes by now. The thought of actually having someone willingly take her self-chosen surname was overwhelming enough, but three children _and_ Regina suggesting it was almost too much for her to handle. She smiled at the brunette and finally broke their eye contact.

"I love it."

*#*#*#*

Charming paced outside the station for at least twenty-minutes after Ruby had put Blue back into her holding cell. He had scratched his head, steepled his fingers beneath his chin and even rubbed his eyes as he mentally searched for reasons why the Blue Fairy had hidden everything from them. She had known it all and simply sat back to watch them on a wild goose chase. None of it made sense to him; his family had never done a single malicious thing to the fairy, or any of the other fairies in the convent that would have made this a form of vicious payback. No, he needed a reason why she had kept so quiet about it.

It was frustrating to say the least.

Without Rumple's unasked-for truth spell, they never would have learnt the things that they had done in the questioning room, but Charming couldn't help but wish that it hadn't been so brutally truthful. A little lie here or there wouldn't have made much of a difference, but they wouldn't have put him in this situation.

The confusion and frustration that ran circles in his mind was already driving him crazy. After spending far too long grumbling about what they could and couldn't do to both Hayden _and_ the Blue Fairy, he pulled out his cell phone from his pocket and dialled Regina's number; a number that he now knew by heart.

" _Hello_?" Regina answered, trying to hush the loud voices in the background with an audible smile.

"Regina, it's Charming. Do you think we can chat in private?"

" _Of course,_ " the happiness in her voice dissipated and the background noises soon died out when he heard the sound of a door closing. " _What is this about, Deputy_?"

"Ruby and I just left our second interview with Blue, and it's not good news." He sighed and ran his hand over his face.

" _What do you mean 'it's not good news'_?" She snapped down the line at him. Her anger and anxiousness was as clear as day in her voice.

"Blue knew everything. She knew where Emma was; she knew what he was doing to her and she didn't even attempt to stop it." Through the line, Charming could audibly hear her snarl. "She didn't tell him to do it, but she didn't stop it either."

" _Would it be suitable for me to crush her in the palm of my hand_?" The anger in her voice took Charming back to his time chasing the woman for her head. It terrified him. Even her second guessing was worrying enough. " _No, that ridiculous. We're supposed to be the good guys now. There is nothing that I want more, however, than to rip out her tiny little heart and crush it into dust. I already have an idea about Hayden's punishment, and I know it will be brutal, but Blue? Oh, she's going to have to remain in our hands._ "

"Their punishments are all down to you, Regina," He said, sounding completely defeated. "I don't think I can speak to him again. I saw what he did to my little girl. I know what he did to her - that's enough for me to want his head on a stick."

" _And you think that I'm going to be any better with him_?!" Regina practically laughed. " _I'm going to need my magic bound when I'm near him, because I am warning you now, I will destroy him if it is the last thing I do._ "

Charming sighed. He had heard that threat far too many times and knew how much the woman meant it whenever she said it. He shook his head. "Like you said, we're the good guys. You can kiss your happy ending goodbye if you react in any way that hasn't been considered with a council."

Regina's rich laugh crackled in Charming's phone speaker. " _What council, Charming? This is our decision, and we can do with it what we wish._ "

"I know, but I _do_ think that we should have at least some sort of guidance from people who aren't being affected by this in the way that we are. We need people that are calmer than us right now."

" _Fine. Call a council meeting with some of your people and a few neutrals in town for the next few days. We'll make a decision as to what we're going to do and we shall proceed from there._ " Regina's reluctance to wait was eating away at her. She was already an incredibly impatient woman, but waiting for justice was far too much to ask of her. " _Organise it with my secretary, Lucy Perriweather, and hold it somewhere at Town Hall. You're also going to have to organise a rota of people that can supervise the holding cells. You and Miss Lucas are now to stay away from the station for your own mental states until this is over._ "

He 'mhm'ed through the line before ditching his professional upkeep over the phone, happily turning it into a family-esque call and finally relaxing.


	28. The Council

**CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT - The Council**

* _Three days later - Town Hall_ *

Emma and Regina walked through one of the hallways in the Town Hall hand-in-hand, quietly discussing their plan for their council meeting. Emma cradled a very content Amira on her hip as Regina read through the outline that she and Charming had agreed on for the meeting. The thought of plotting her abductor's demise was a little overwhelming for the blonde. She really didn't want to have to sit in on the council meeting, but her mother's very demanding request meant that she had no option but to agree. Regina hadn't said as much, but her suggestion for Emma's attendance was enough.

"Are you sure that I _have_ to be here for this?" Emma asked after Regina had paused her reading to acknowledge a civil servant passing.

"I'm sorry, Emma," Regina squeezed her hand tightly and pulled them to a stop. "We just need you to be here so everyone knows what happened. It's going to be an incredibly trying day for you, but the council needs to make an official decision for all of us."

The blonde's dejected shoulders said everything that was swimming around her head. She readjusted the toddler on her hip and held her closer. She down looked at the tiny blonde head that rested comfortably on her collarbone and smiled slightly. If she hadn't been abducted, there never would have been an opportunity for Regina to meet Charlotte and Amira at the Children's Home, and for her to meet them at the hospital for the first time. In a masochistic way, Emma was _almost_ grateful that the situation had led them to the girls. She and Regina were given daughters from it, Henry was given two sisters that loved him, and the girls were finally given a home and a proper family that they could call their own. Her relationship with Regina may never have grown in the way it did – it could have been an uphill struggle from the very beginning. There was a silver lining, she supposed.

"I'm going to be there the entire time, and if it's ever too much for you, then you've got this little princess as an excuse." She smiled at the toddler in Emma's arms and delicately pushed back the wild blonde curls that never seemed to stay in the same place for longer than a moment, no matter how hard they tried. Regina glanced back up at the older blonde. "I also want _you_ to be happy with their sentences because _you_ experienced this and _you_ have to live with the memories of it all. That's why you have to be here."

Emma sighed. She knew Regina was right, but she had wanted to at least _try_ to see if the brunette would cave and agree that she didn't need to be there this time. She already knew that she would have to live with their decision for the rest of her life - they had been through this multiple times in the previous days, and she had even read the full case file. She knew exactly what was going on, and she had already told Regina that she wished she didn't.

"Fine…" She drawled like the child Regina insisted she still was. "But after this we're going straight home, getting in sweatpants and doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day."

Regina grinned at the plan that surprisingly sounded heavenly - minus the sweatpants, of course. "Deal."

She took Emma's hand again and led the blonde towards her office, where David had organised their meeting to be held. A few of the council members had already found their seats around Regina's marble conference table in the middle of the room. Belle and Rumple sat together, while Granny and Ruby sat opposite. Charming and Snow were talking animatedly with Grumpy and Doc - the only two of the dwarves that willingly put themselves forward for the council. All of Snow's faithful followers had turned up in pairs; even Archie and Marco had arrived together shortly after Emma and Regina's entrance.

The neutrals that Charming had brought in, however, simply seemed to be some of their close friends. Kathryn and Regina had attempted to repair their friendship at some point after the curse broke, so when the blonde arrived and gave the brunette a friendly hug, Emma couldn't help but smile at how much Regina had _actually_ changed in the last few months. Ashley, Sean, Dr. Whale and a few nurses were the last of the council members to arrive.

"I told you that we should have brought Alexandra with us," Ashley swatted at Sean when she spotted Amira running circles around Emma's legs with a huge grin and a screaming laugh plastered on her little face. Ashley made eye contact with Regina, smiled and slowly approached the woman. "She's gorgeous, Regina."

"She is," the brunette mused, not entirely sure which blonde she, was talking about. She couldn't bring herself to take her eyes away from Emma and Amira as they laughed and teased each other through the oversized office. "They look so much alike."

Ashley merely nodded and touched Regina's arm. "I'm really happy for you, Regina. Forthe both of you; you deserve your happy endings."

"Thank you," Regina offered the other woman an honest smile. She hadn't expected so much support from the rest of the townsfolk when she and Emma finally announced their relationship with some serious PDA at Granny's diner a few days before. She had been even more surprised to find so many people that _wanted_ her to be happy.

When the clock on Regina's office wall chimed 11am, Charming began rounding up the rest of the council that had yet to be seated around the table. Emma and Regina ensured that they found seats beside one another and gripped their hands together beneath the table. Amira hadn't even been left alone to play for a minute before she came bumbling across the room requesting to sit on her blonde adoptive mother's lap. Emma wondered whether she had sensed the anxiety that bubbled in the pit of her stomach.

Charming remained standing in his position at the foot of the table and cleared his throat, instantly gaining the attention of the entire council. "Thank you all for attending this morning. As you have all been informed, a little over a week ago, Emma was kidnapped as she left Regina's home and held _hostage_ in the basement of the Children's Home." He looked over at his daughter, who was obviously trying to ignore everything her father was saying by distracting herself with the toddler on her lap. She didn't need to hear this again - she had already experienced it - wasn't that enough?!

"The Sheriff's Department spent the last week trying to find Emma and investigating to find her abductor. After a long and trying questioning period, we had to result in the use of a truth enchantment to learn what really happened, and the Blue Fairy seemed to be more than accommodating. So, Deputy Lucas and I believe that we have _two_ people in custody that were involved."

"Who do you have in custody?" Whale asked. He had been more than concerned when Emma left the hospital with her extensive injuries, and had called Snow's apartment at least twice a day to make sure that the Saviour's health was improving. With his lack of magical knowledge, Whale had been convinced that no one in town had the magical abilities to cause the trouble that they had.

"We have the Blue Fairy, as I already implicated," Charming fought the urge to roll his eyes; someone hadn't been paying attention at the beginning. "And we also have Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Or Hayden, as he goes by here."

Most of the council members looked at each other in confusion. No one in Storybrooke had actually taken a great deal of notice to the people that they didn't already know from their pasts in the Enchanted Forest, so when no one recognised the boy's name, Charming took out a photograph from a manila envelope that he had tucked under his arm. He slid it onto the middle of the table for everyone to see. A few acknowledgements of recognition passed around the table, but Emma couldn't think to look up. Instead she held Regina's hand firmer and watched as Amira scribbled on a piece of paper in front of them with a pencil that Emma had fished out of the bottom of Regina's purse.

"But what happened? What did he do?" Doc asked, completely oblivious to the irritated look that Emma flashed him when he proved his ignorance to her attendance.

"He tried to kill me," the blonde woman snarled at him. Her mother gave her a warning look about her attitude, but she continued anyway. "He knocked me out and magicked me to some basement where he tried his damn near hardest to drain every litre of blood from my body and torture me mentally and physically. Do you need to hear any more?"

Doc's face fell a ghostly shade of pale as he wished he had never been the one to ask for a few more details. He sank back into his chair and twiddled with his thumbs with a shake of his head in decline of her offer. Across the table, Regina held her and Emma's joined hand in her lap as she traced comforting circles with her index finger on the top of the blonde's hand. No words could soothe the raging fear and irritation that bubbled beneath the Emma's skin.

"But where does the Blue Fairy come into this?" Asked one of the male nurses that Emma didn't recognise.

"She aided Hayden," Regina started as she squeezed Emma's hand a little tighter between her own. "She informed Hayden of her disapproval of a prophecy that she had been told. Before we returned from Neverland, the Blue Fairy learned that Emma and I would break Rumple's curse with true love's kiss, much to her own annoyance. The Blue Fairy told Hayden about it, but didn't expect him to act upon her hatred, especially not in the way that he did."

Charming nodded in thanks to Regina as a silent offer to take over from her. "When Emma went missing, Rumple was able to use his magic to trace the source of Hayden's magic. It led us to the Children's Home, where we began our search. At this point, the Blue Fairy was questioning Hayden. He _physically_ showed her Emma's whereabouts and her already declining state-"

"And she didn't stop him?!" Granny spat in disgust. She never liked the fairy to begin with, but this was too much.

The acting-Sheriff shook his head, but before he could say anything, Emma stood from her seat and hoisted Amira onto her hip. Her eyes were clouded with worry and lined with thick tears. "I'm just gonna… We're just gonna get some fresh air."

She let go of Regina's hand and stormed out of the office, much to the confusion of the little blonde toddler that she held tight to her body. The entire council watched as the blonde left in an emotional world wind. They all sympathised with her, but none of them were seemingly willing to follow her out of the building. Regina and Snow exchanged guilty looks, knowing that they were the ones that had convinced her to be there in the first place.

' _ **Are you okay?'**_

' _ **I'm fine.'**_

' _ **Do you want me to sit with you outside for a moment?'**_ Regina knew not to follow her immediately. The blonde needed some air and some space before she could even comprehend what she was hearing. She had experienced the worst of it, and Emma didn't want to hear about it too.

There was a momentary pause as Regina waited for an answer from the blonde. ' _ **I'm by the coffee machine.'**_

Standing from her own chair, Regina excused herself from the meeting and stormed out of the office after the blonde. It didn't take long for her to hastily walk through the corridors to find Emma in the public open area of the Town Hall. The blonde guiltily gripped a handful of candy bars that she had bought from one of the vending machines.

"That doesn't look like coffee to me, dear," Regina laughed in an attempt to put the other woman at ease. She graciously took the Three Musketeers bar that Emma offered her as they sat on one of the many plastic sofas that furnished the area. "Candy bars aren't the answer, you know."

"No, but they make everything a little easier to swallow," she admitted as she watched Amira attempt to reach for the random buttons on the vending machines in between stuffing her tiny fists into a bag of cheese puffs.

When Regina spotted their adopted daughter's orange hands and mouth, she couldn't help but whack Emma on the thigh. "You know that she's not allowed those, Miss Swan. There's fruit in her bag."

Emma laughed and leaned against the brunette. "To be honest, I wasn't really thinking about fishing an apple out of the bag after all of that." Regina nodded and wrapped her arm around the blonde's shoulders and pulled her closer. "I'll remember next time - I promise."

Regina 'mhm'ed at Emma's promise and decided to address the elephant in the room. "I'm really sorry, Emma. You shouldn't have to hear all of this again." She sighed and bit into her own candy bar. It had been a ridiculously long time since she had indulged herself in the sugary confection, and Emma was right; they did make everything a little easier. "It was stupid to have made you come with us for the entire meeting. They're discussing the rest of the events now and your father has agreed to text me once they start deciding where we should go with this… That's the only bit you _really_ need to be a part of. How are you faring with it?"

"Honestly? I'm not okay. I didn't think it would have been this hard, you know?" Emma sighed and tied a perfect knot in her empty candy bar wrapper. "I don't wanna be here and I really don't want _that lot_ knowing the ins and outs of what happened down there. Before we know it, the entire town will know."

"But then, it will all be over. We will have moved on with our lives together and you'll be safe. We're all going to be safe after this. The chatter will die down eventually, and Storybrooke will be back to gossiping about the same rubbish that it always has." Regina squeezed Emma's shoulders. "Maybe they'll start discussing how your daughters are older than _you_."

Emma pushed herself out of Regina's hold with an incredibly confused look and a furrowed brow. Regina waited for a moment with a small smile until the penny dropped for the blonde.

Emma finally gasped and blinked between Regina and Amira. "Oh my god… So technically, Amira is, like, thirty and Charlotte is…" She paused to count on her fingers, ignoring Regina's raised eyebrows. "Forty-three. Our kids are forty-three, thirty and eleven…"

"Technically," Regina laughed at the blonde's animated features. If something was going to take her mind away from the conversations in her office, then this most certainly would. "And you're not even going to want to think about how old I am."

"Well, if we're living together, surely that's something I _should_ know." Emma wagged her eyebrows at Regina with a devilish smile. "How old were you when you cast the curse?"

"Let's just say, that if you're looking for technicalities, I should be sixty-two." Regina stood and dusted off her black slacks with a grin before chasing down an incredibly overactive and _orange_ toddler, while Emma sat staring slack-jawed at the brunette. She was too distracted by the idea that Regina was _technically_ twice her age to see the woman magically clean the cheesy orange dust from the child's hands and mouth before disposing of the discarded packet. "Miss Swan, your father is ready for us."

Emma sobered slightly from her thoughts and pushed herself away from the plastic couch. She took the tiny pale hand that Amira offered in her own, while Regina took the toddler's other. They walked at Amira's pace back to the office with smiles on their faces and multiple teasing remarks passed between them. They had settled into such a comfortable way of life in an incredibly short time, and Emma knew that she wouldn't change it for the world. If their small little essence of normality could distract her from the council meeting, then Emma knew that she would be seeing the rest of her life through rose-tinted glasses.

As the three re-entered the Mayor's office, the chatting voices all fell into a thick, uncomfortable silence. Even Amira felt it when she released Regina's hand and begged her ' _Mama_ ' to pick her up. Emma obliged and carried the toddler back over to the conference table with Regina and retook their seats.

"Thank you for re-joining us," Charming said to his daughter and Regina, seeing how uncomfortable Emma already appeared to be and stuffed his cell phone into his pocket. "We've discussed what happened, and now we are left with the decision of punishment for Hayden and the Blue Fairy."

Regina nodded her head. "Does anyone have any suggestions?"

The entire council ignored Grumpy as he held his thumb to his throat and dragged it along his stumpy neck. Regina and Charming had already decided that a death sentence was definitely not going to happen; they were supposed to be the _heroes_ this time, not the grim reaper. Too much blood had already been spilled between them.

"We could just send them both into a netherworld and destroy every portal to it…" Ruby suggested without having any idea if it was even possible.

"Ooh… Or we could trap them both in mirrors!" Granny threw her own idea into the mix, actually knowing that this one had been done before, and who would be better to do it than the Queen herself?! "We could smash the glass to make sure that they can never get out – they'll never be able to do what they did again."

"No," Charming shook his head. "We can't punish them in the same way. Blue withheld information and essentially tampered with our investigation. She didn't have the same involvement. You wouldn't convict a murder and a thief under the same sentence - it's not justice. They need to be tried differently."

Regina nodded in agreement. For once, Charming was absolutely right. They couldn't do the same to Blue as they wanted to do to Hayden. She tapped her nails on the table as she waited for someone else to suggest something before she lay out one of her ideas for Hayden's punishment. When the council simply shared blank looks between one another, Regina spoke up.

"When Hayden was dismissed from his family setting in the Southern Isles, he travelled to Arendelle, where he fought against Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. He escaped to the Enchanted Forest before Elsa's men could capture him and punish him for what he did." The council all turned to face the redeemed _Evil_ Queen, patiently waiting for a brutal suggestion of punishment for the young man. "We could always return him to her hands and allow her court to sentence him. The Arendellean sentences were a little too… _cold_ for my usual liking."

Regina smirked a little when she heard Emma groan at her wording. Behind the smirk, however, she waited with baited breath as she watched the ideas swim around the heads of the council members. Her suggestion was possible - it was simple and it wouldn't leave Hayden's demise to weigh heavily on their shoulders. She knew that Emma wasn't the _biggest_ fan of the Enchanted Forest's justice system, and the justice system of this world wasn't something that had done the blonde any favours either. But from what she could recall, Queen Elsa wanted to crush Hayden like the bug that he was – and that would happily work for everyone.

"I like it…" Rumple finally said, breaking the silence around them. He had no memories of a dispute between the Arendellean royals and Hans, but if Regina was suggesting it, then he knew it must have been bad. "If we can convince the Ice Queen to take him prisoner, we'll be rid of him for good."

A few other council members began nodding their heads in agreement.

"You would never be able to get him there, Regina. We've got no magic beans left, remember?" Snow tilted her head, trying to state the obvious, but she had to raise the question on everyone else's lips.

Regina smiled at the pixie-haired brunette across the table. "You seem to forget that Elsa and I were friends during my marriage to Leopold. She kindly gave me an active portal to roam between worlds and realms after we first met; the mirror in my study is still connected to the Orientalis. It would take us directly to Arendelle, should we require it."

Emma looked at the brunette beside her in fascination. Their tour of the mansion had been filled with artefacts from the Enchanted Forest that Regina had willingly divulged in their storytelling. But this one, she seemed to have missed; they had, after all overlooked the downstairs study, because it had been a room that Emma had frequented whenever she was welcomed into the Mayoral Mansion.

"That could work." Charming smiled at Regina. He knew how hard it was for her not to revert to her old ideas and sentencing suggestions when someone she loved was involved. "Regina, would you be willing to escort him to the Queen's court?"

"Of course," Regina offered him a tight lipped smile and entwined her fingers with Emma's in a tight hold. She didn't want to cross realms on her own with Hayden, but since she was the only one that actually knew Queen Elsa, she had no actual choice in the matter. "And the Blue Fairy?"

This time, no one had any suggestions. Many of them had hoped that the fairy would fall from grace at some point, but now that they were in the position of sentencing her for her fall, no one could muster up a single idea.

"Could we…" Emma started, but hesitated and shook her head. "Never mind."

Regina squeezed Emma's hand and looked deep into her worried eyes. "No, what were you saying, love?"

' _ **Could we do to her what she did to Tink?'**_ Emma shook her head to fill the silence between them.

' _ **What, remove her wings and take away her magic?**_ _**I'm not sure… I like the idea, but only Rumple would know if it is possible.'**_

Emma cleared her throat and addressed Rumple at the top of the table. "In the Enchanted Forest, Blue took away Tinkerbelle's wings and her magic. Could we do that to her? She relies on her magic a lot, and it's justice for my mom since she _did_ get cursed because of all this. It's a punishment, but it still lets her live here and try to be a _normal person_."

"Yes."

" _No_."

Rumple and Snow spoke simultaneously. Snow glared at Rumple as he grinned at her. She hated the idea of doing such a thing to the fairy. They had been friends ever since she could remember, and even though she did have a part to play in her daughter's abduction and almost demise, she still didn't believe that she deserved _that_.

"I think it's a marvellous idea, Saviour." Rumple practically giggled. "It is most certainly possible, but we're going to need some help from the one of her idiotic minions at the Convent and Children's Home. I suggest Sister Nova. She is always more than willing to help a cause whenever Leroy here is a part of it."

Grumpy turned a deep shade of crimson and suddenly became defensive. "We're just friends, okay? She's a nun and that just… just… plain wrong!"

Regina rolled her eyes at him and looked towards Rumple. "Do you think you can handle Blue?"

"Of course, your Majesty," he feigned a bow as he remained seated. "The Blue Fairy will be the _squib_ that she always deserved to be by the time you leave for Arendelle."

*#*#*#*

An hour later, found the council finally leaving the Mayor's office at Town Hall, leaving Emma, Regina, the Charmings and Amira the last ones in the large office.

"Are you sure that you're going to be okay with this, Regina?" Charming asked out of concern for his daughter's love. Everyone in the council could see how worried Regina had seemed before they left, yet none of them had been willing to highlight her nervous and even _weak_ disposition.

"I don't suppose I have much of a choice." Snapped the brunette, she glared at him until she noticed the concerned look on his face. She _was_ worried about it, but there was nothing any of them could do about it. Something had to be done, and sending him to Arendelle was the best decision they had. It was the only one they had. Regina sobered slightly as she sat behind her desk. "It will be fine. I'll be gone for no longer than an hour, then we can all just go back to our realities."

Charming nodded and leaned over Regina's desk. "As soon as this is over, you can actually be a family."

Regina offered her love's father a thankful smile. She had been surprised at him the most through all of this. He had stood by her side and defended her to the very end. Even when she and Emma came out as a couple he had been supportive of them. Charming had been worried at first, as any father would have been, but the moment he saw how happy the two of them already seemed to be together, her couldn't help but want to be happy for them. It _almost_ made up for the fact that Snow had kicked up a fuss in the meantime.

"I could always come with you, if you needed someone to accompany you?" He offered.

She shook her head and glanced over to Emma. "If anyone was to accompany me, Charming, it would be Emma, but that's _never_ going to happen." She ruffled her hands through her hair in frustration. She couldn't ask Emma to cross realms with her and the man that kidnapped her. It was an impossible ask. "I just need you to make sure that Rumple will actually do everything in his power to get me back if I don't return within the hour."

"Of course."

On the other side of the office, Emma lay sprawled like a starfish on one of the couches with Amira laying on her chest in a nearly identical manner. Every time Emma let out an exasperated sigh, Amira would mimic it. Anyone outside of Storybrooke never would have questioned the child's parentage in this scene; the toddler looked and acted so much like her blonde adoptive mother, and occasionally mirrored her brunette adoptive mother's personality quirks, but in this moment, Emma and Amira looked like they had been cut from the same cloth.

Snow watched the two from the opposite couch with a grin. "You are going to teach her far too many bad and lazy habits, Em." She observed.

Emma turned her head to face her mother and held in her laughter as Amira did the same. "You're starting to sound like Regina, now." She did laugh this time. She laughed even harder when Amira squealed at the movement of Emma's stomach as she laughed. "Besides, I don't have any bad _or_ lazy habits. Just a few… quirks. But dad seems to think I got them from you anyway."

The pixie-haired brunette playfully glared at her daughter, not wanting to admit that her husband had probably been right. No words could describe how much she loved to just _veg out_ in her chambers sometimes when she lived in the Enchanted Forest, and when she discovered television in Storybrooke, that only seemed to get worse. That was most certainly something Emma had inherited from her. But her eating habits – that was all from Charming.

"Well, your father is a liar," Snow teased. "Just make sure than my granddaughter actually eats _some_ healthy foods and doesn't spend all day every day in front of the television."

"Those are some habits I'm trying to ingrain in your daughter, Snow." Regina interrupted with a smile. She leaned over the arm of the couch to place an upside-down kiss on Emma's waiting lips, then onto Amira's nose when she saw the toddler purse her own lips in the same way as the older blonde.

"I _do_ eat healthy foods." Regina raised her eyebrows questioningly at Emma as she rounded the couch to lift Emma's legs and sit beneath them. "I order spinach or kale on a pizza sometimes. And, not to mention, I eat the food that you've put in front of me since we've been living in the mansion. There were a few things on those plates that were green!"

"Occasionally eating spinach or kale on a _pizza_ isn't healthy, Emma. You actually have to eat proper fruit and vegetables on a daily basis." Snow added to Regina's argument. However, this time, the raised eyebrows were aimed at her. "What…?"

Regina tutted and rolled her eyes at Snow's ignorance. It was only banter, but Regina knew how dense her former nemesis could be sometimes. "Snow, dear, you cooked for us daily when we were staying at the apartment, and I don't remember a single time you served anything that contained fruits _or_ vegetables."

The pixie-haired brunette's cheeks flushed a deep shade of crimson. It had only dawned on her then that Regina was actually right. "Okay, fine. Sometimes I don't eat them _every day_ , but I have them regularly enough to say that I eat healthily."

Emma looked at Regina and smirked. ' _ **Before the Dark Curse broke, I never once saw her eat anything that wasn't pasta or covered in cheese sauce. She even drank more beer than I did.'**_

' _ **You do know that their entire frozen compartment is full of Häagen-Dazs and pizzas, right?'**_ Emma nodded at the brunette and tried not to laugh.

' _ **My dad ate three bags of microwave popcorn last week while we were watching TV, and that was**_ **after** _ **dinner.'**_

Regina frowned in a slight disgust. Now she knew where Emma and Henry got their bottomless appetites from. ' _ **This conversation is giving me a whole new reason to dislike your parents. And I swear, if I find out that your eating habits are just as bad, you can kiss your junk food goodbye, Miss Swan.'**_

This time, Emma couldn't hold down her laughter. She knew that Regina was slowly but surely warming to her parents, and their gross eating habits wouldn't have any effect on that.

"Okay, this is weird…" Charming muttered from behind the couch that Snow sat on. He had watched the entire exchange between Regina and his daughter, with no idea what was going on between them. "You can't just sit there looking at each other pulling faces without telling us what you're talking about."

"It's their telepathic connection," Snow grumbled. She acted like she hated it, but every time she saw either one of them doing it, she never missed the smile that it plastered on their faces. "And it's annoying."

Emma and Regina grinned at one another, then grinned at Snow and Charming.


	29. Through the Looking Glass

**CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE – Through the Looking Glass**

Emma woke the following morning to a _very_ empty bed. The previous night had found Amira refusing to sleep alone in her new bedroom, so her adoptive mothers had wrapped her up in her favourite blanket and brought her to bed with them – much to the disappointment of their pre-made _plans_ that had already began unfolding before the toddler at the end of the hall began to scream. She had snored and wriggled all night long once she was wrapped up between Emma and Regina. Emma wanted to be annoyed by it, but as she watched the toddler's tiny fist grip her blanket and smile through her dreams, she found her heart swelling with nothing more than happiness. And now, here she was in the over-sized bed surprisingly alone.

She hadn't heard Regina stir or Amira wake from her restless night sleep. Somehow, she had managed to pass out from exhaustion long enough to miss her bed mates waking. The blonde wrapped herself in a dressing gown that hung behind the bedroom door and made her way downstairs in search of the brunette. When she found the kitchen and living room empty, and Regina's study door uncharacteristically shut, she tapped her knuckles on the door and opened it wide to find the brunette attempting to pull her huge mirror from the wall with a baby monitor half falling from her own dressing gown pocket.

"Need a hand?" Emma asked with her deep, gruff morning voice, startling Regina into stumbling away from the wall without the mirror.

The brunette's hand shot to her chest in fright. " _Emma_ ," She muttered breathlessly as Emma approached her with a smug smile. She whacked the blonde's shoulder before accepting the woman's embrace. "You startled me, you idiot."

Emma laughed into Regina's pristinely primped hair before placing a delicate kiss in the curve of her neck. "I'm sorry." She pulled away from the embrace enough to look at the brunette. "What were you actually trying to do?"

"I was stealing the mirror from the wall. What does it look like I was doing?" She playfully swatted Emma again as she pretended to gag at the blonde's flirtatious attempts at kissing her neck and jaw, but never once did she try to pull away, only to pull Emma closer. "I wanted to prepare everything for this afternoon, and that included getting the mirror off the wall when we didn't have an infant running around our ankles."

"You should have woke me, Regina. That could have seriously hurt you if it fell." Her serious tone startled the brunette even more than the moment she announced her presence in the study. Aside from her mother, she had never had anyone care about her safety, and even then her mother only wanted to make sure that she didn't damage her body for the vanity and sale side of it. "Are you sure I can't come with you today? I kind of wanna be there for this, you know? And I'm not entirely happy that you're gonna be alone with _him_."

Regina bit her lip contemplation. She didn't want to put Emma in the situation of having to cross realms with the young man that had tried to kill her, but the more Emma asked, the more she worried whether she _could_ do it alone. It was definitely a thought that she had spent the previous night considering. She even tried to overlook the sincerity in Emma's voice as she worried about her safety. But the anxiety she had over Emma's situation with _him_ was enough to dampen that.

"Help me get the mirror down and I'll think about it." She offered the woman. She had the whole morning to decide whether she should take Emma with her or not, and this would just distract the blonde from practically begging her until she had no choice but to agree.

When Emma let her go, Regina took hold of one end of the mirror and instructed Emma to take the other. They hoisted the huge frame down from the wall with a grunt or two and leaned it against the marble fireplace beneath it.

"Why the hell is that thing so heavy?!" Emma huffed as she let herself fall back onto one of the couches. Regina gracefully fell by her side and laughed as she rested her head on Emma's chest.

"Because it's a portal to multiple other worlds and realms. Magic weighs heavily on different things." Emma looked down at her as if to question whether the brunette was talking literally or figuratively. Regina didn't see the confused look on the blonde's face, but took her silence as a request to continue. "On humans, it's usually a physical _or_ a mental weight, whereas with objects, it's simply a physical weight. Mine has always been a mental weight. Yours on the other hand, is the best there is; yours is a spiritual weight. Your mind and your body will never be physically impacted by the weight of your own magic because you were a child born of true love. You always have, and always will have magic coursing through your veins that is too powerful for even the strongest sorcerer to wield."

The blonde looked at her puzzled. It made sense, she supposed, but the idea of it was still absolutely ridiculous. She couldn't even conjure a fireball without messing it up and producing a _giant cupcake_. Emma shrugged it off with false acceptance, knowing too well that it would take up the majority of their morning together if Emma sat there and asked the brunette everything there was to know about the weight of magic. It wasn't that she didn't want to know, because she did, it was more towards the fact that she knew they had the rest of their lives to learn from each other. And that's what she was holding onto. But this morning, she simply wanted to enjoy the serenity that had happily grown between them.

For a while, they sat together in silence, with Regina leaning into Emma's side and her feet tucked beneath her rear, enjoying the peace that early mornings at the mansion seemed to offer them, and the lack of a child's feet pressing into her back. Still, they patiently waited for the sound of the baby monitor in Regina's pocket to crackle and confirm that the child was finally awake.

Forty-five minutes later, found them both jolting out of their daydreams when they heard Amira's cry through the decade old monitors.

"I'll get her," Emma said when they eventually woke out of their daydreams and shifted off the couch rather reluctantly.

Regina nodded and followed the blonde out of the study, ensuring that the door was shut tightly behind them. As Emma climbed the stairs, Regina found her tired legs carrying her towards the kitchen and instinctively starting a fresh pot of coffee. She was exhausted. Amira had kept her awake for the majority of the night with her wriggling and occasional babbling through her dreams. So, when Regina had been disturbed from her slumber for the final time at 6am, she decided to move the unconscious toddler back to her own crib and retreat downstairs.

It had become routine now for the couple in the mornings; one would fetch Amira from her bedroom, and the other would prepare the coffee or milk. They had fallen into their domestic roles like a well-oiled machine; like they had been doing it for years, and Emma had settled into the mansion much more comfortably than either woman could ever imagine.

The light pitter-patter of tiny footsteps and hushed 'shh's echoed through the hallway and into the kitchen. Regina pretended not to hear it as she feigned ignorance with a huge smile on her face. She could hear Amira's bare feet slapping on the marble tiles as she ran up behind her. Then, when the toddler screamed out a 'boo!' Regina held her hand tight to her chest and gasped in a false terror. Amira roared with laughter as her adoptive mother pulled her into her arms with plenty of kisses to her cheeks.

For Emma, the sight before her was more than beautiful. Regina had always meant to be a mother, and seeing scenes like this every morning was just a friendly reminder for the blonde that there was no one in this world that she would have rather raised her son. It was even a strong reminder of how much the woman had changed from her terrifying counterpart. Emma's heart skipped a beat when she saw how radiant the brunette looked as the morning sun shone through the window on her smiling face. It was a beautiful sight to see someone that had been so sad and broken become someone so strong and _happy_.

' _ **Have I told you that happiness looks good on you, yet?'**_

' _ **Once or twice,'**_ Regina looked up from the toddler on her hip to smile at the other woman. ' _ **Thank you, Emma.'**_

"It's my pleasure." Emma said aloud. She grinned at the brunette and crossed the kitchen to press a delicate kiss on her lips. She knew what Regina was thanking her for, and it wasn't the compliment.

*#*#*#*

At 11am on the dot, just as they had promised, Charming, accompanied by Ruby, Rumple, and Snow waited on the mansion's porch after ringing the doorbell. They had organised during the council meeting to muster up a plan together for Regina's realm traveling trip through her mirror and into Arendelle later that afternoon. They had already sent word to Queen Elsa of Arendelle of Regina's expected arrival, but they needed to organise the final aspects of how Hayden would be dealt with and carried through the portal.

Regina ushered Charming, Ruby and Rumple into her study, while Emma and her mother joined the children in the living room. Emma didn't want to hear all this stuff again. Physically, she had moved on, but mentally, she was still struggling to process everything. Her father had allowed her to see the photographs that Hayden had taken of her and Regina, and even allowed her to read through the journal that he had kept. The freedom of the investigation annoyed her more than it should have, mainly because she didn't think that it was necessary for her to know everything that happened or what was planned to happen to her. She would have been fine with accepting Hayden's punishment and just trying to move on with her new life with Regina, but with her parents and Ruby insisting that she should know about most of it, she couldn't find it in herself to completely move on.

She just wanted the entire thing to be over.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Snow asked her daughter as they sat on the floor with Amira, who was much more interested in playing with the princess Barbies that her mothers had bought for her than the two grown-ups that joined her.

Emma accepted one of the dolls that Amira thrust into her hand and smiled at the floor. "I'm okay. A little disorientated because I feel like I'm living two lives at the moment, but after today, I'm sure I'll be fine."

"You look exhausted. Are you sleeping, or are you still having the nightmares?" The pixie-cut brunette gripped Emma's upper arm with concern. Her daughter's eyes looked more than sunken and every little movement that she made looked tired.

"Actually, this monkey didn't want to sleep in her own bed last night," She tickled Amira as the child played, "so, we had an extra bed mate that couldn't keep still. Regina and I spent the entire night with feet in our backs or the occasional slap to the ribs. She wriggled all night, and snored, and I could have sworn that she was talking in her sleep at one point." Emma smiled; it wasn't an ideal night's sleep, but it was comforting to have experienced such a familial moment for the first time in her life. "Between the two of us, I think we managed to get a solid hour of sleep."

Snow matched Emma's smile, but managed to hide the sadness that swam through her mind. A restless night sleep was never appealing, but for a long while, she had longed to have experienced her daughter's youthful restless nights, and this moment was no different. She had missed so much of her daughter's life and now she had moved in with her true love and started a family – she had missed an entire generation because of the curse.

Somewhere in her attention span, she could hear Emma contemplating the idea of investing in a travel crib to keep in her and Regina's bedroom for nights like that, but Snow couldn't stop thinking about how much she had missed of her daughter's life. Someone else had seen her first steps; someone else had heard her first word; someone else had soothed her first fever; someone else had experienced her restless nights and someone else had been called _mom,_ even if it was for a little while, but it was never her. She had never been lucky enough.

"...and then we would have the crib if you ever wanted the kids to stay over with you and dad, you know?" Snow finally caught the latter half of Emma's one sided conversation and nodded. She and Charming had been thinking of extending their family for a while, but until then, they would always have their grandchildren.

"That would be a wonderful idea, Emma." She took her daughter's hand in her own and squeezed it for a moment. "Your father and I want to be much more involved with Henry, and now that the girls are here – we'll have so much fun."

Emma kept hold of her mother's hand as she looked up at the young woman.

"Are you sure that you're okay with all of this? I know it's a lot to take in and to get used to, but I just wanna know whether or not you're supportive of it…" She knew that this was all a lot to ask a mother to understand – she got it – she _had_ been put through the mill when she found out about the curse, so she understood how difficult it was to comprehend a lot all at once, but Emma needed her mother's support. She needed someone to be there to cheer her on at the side-lines – literally.

"I am so happy for you, Emma." Snow told her with a genuinely happy smile this time. "You've found your true love, you have your son back, you have your _real_ family back, and you're beginning your own family. That is all I have ever wanted for you, Emma, under different circumstances, of course, but you've got here. I always dreamed of taking you to your first ball or teaching you how to dance and wear your crown in ways that would make sure that it didn't fall. But what I wanted the most for you was for you to be happy – that's all I've ever wanted. It's just going to take a little while to get used to your happy ending being with Regina... but I'm sure that will come with time."

"And I am happy, mom," Emma looked up at Charlotte and Henry, who were aggressively trying to play tennis on the Nintendo Wii, and smiled. Amira had hoisted herself into her lap and Regina's presence throughout the house was always a comfort. She had everything in this house that she ever wanted. "After all of these years of searching, I've finally found the place I'm meant to be. Having Regina and Henry brought it into perspective that I _can_ have everything that I've ever wanted, then the girls came along and proved it. And yeah, I get that it will take a while to get used to me and Regina being a _couple_ , but it just feels so right, you know?"

Snow smiled at her daughter, knowing how happy she had become and felt an even bigger smile grow on her lips when she thought about how grateful she was to be able to share Emma's happiness. Blue's spell had weighed heavily on her heart and mind, but it would never have been strong enough to dampen the joy she felt for her daughter. And she knew how right the love of a _true love_ felt, even if it was frowned upon by many.

She watched as Amira shuffled around in Emma's lap and lifted the blonde doll up for her adoptive mother to see. "Look, Ma – a p'incess!"

"Wow! Does she have a name?" Emma matched the toddler's enthusiastic voice with a grin. When Amira shook her head, Emma sported an exaggerated frown. "I think we should give her a princess' name, don't you think?" Amira nodded, prompting Emma to hum in thought. "How about… Hm… Princess Amira of Storybrooke?!"

Amira giggled and covered her mouth. "I Amira, Mama!"

"Yes you are! And you're also _my_ princess." Emma engulfed the toddler in her arms, revelling in her screams of laughter as she peppered her with loving kisses.

The two played and laughed until Amira managed to escape Emma's grasp to find security in the arms of her adoptive grandmother. Snow gladly joined in and held the laughing toddler in her arms as Emma wound her up by trying to tickle her feet and ribs.

"Please try not to wind my daughter up while Emma and I are in Arendelle this afternoon, Snow." A thick, rich voice in the doorway interrupted Amira's laughter and made Emma's head whip around to face her. "Otherwise, we'll never get her to sleep tonight."

"Moma 'Gina, save me!" Amira squealed as she slipped through Snow's hands and waddled towards Regina's shins with her hands in the air. Regina instantly pulled the toddler up to her height and held her close. Her blonde ringlets had fallen out of the hair ties that Regina had put in an hour ago and stuck out in all manner of messy angles. Her dress had twisted half way around her body, and her tights had disappeared a _long_ time ago.

"I leave your mother alone with you for a moment and you suddenly look like a wild child!" Regina comically gasped and looked down at Emma with a fake glare. It hadn't taken long for the child to develop Regina's wicked sense of humour, nor did it take long for her to master Regina's very skilful glare. "Miss Swan, could I have a word?"

Emma raised her eyebrows in amusement and pulled herself to her feet. Over Regina's shoulder, she noticed that her father, Rumple and Ruby had already left the study and congregated in the vast opening at the foot of the staircase. ' _That was a quick decision,_ ' she thought to herself as she approached Regina and followed the brunette and toddler into the vacated study.

"Rumple has agreed that you should join me this afternoon." Regina told her after shutting the door behind themselves. "He thinks that Queen Elsa would be much more obliging to help if she met you and saw what he did to you."

Regina reached out to touch the ever healing laceration on Emma's stomach. The blonde flinched as delicate fingers made contact with her skin through her shirt. She shuddered at the thought of what was hidden beneath the fabric. It wasn't the memories that the scars held that made her shudder; it was more towards the idea of what Regina thought of her now that she had become more damaged than ever before. She was damaged goods and definitely not worthy of the love of a former Queen.

The hand that traced Emma's laceration scar travelled across the blonde's abdomen and wrapped around her hip. Regina pulled the woman close to her front, grinning when Emma's nose brushed against her own.

"I also wanted you to join me. Coincidentally, we also seem to work better when we're together."

*#*#*#*

The Sheriff's department, that now seemed to consist of David, Ruby and Rumple, returned to the station with one of the biggest tasks they had ever been faced with in this world. Ruby had been more than nervous when she had called Nova to the station to aid them in their newly appointed mission. She had been nervous about their pretences, so when Nova turned up with a bag of vials, a heavy spell book and a solemn look on her face, Ruby's own anxieties churned and formed into nothing but worry for the dainty fairy. It was clear that she had guessed what she was there to do, only from Rumple's odd requests.

"Thank you for coming, Nova." Ruby said to her as she offered to take some of the things that she had been carrying.

"I didn't really have much of a choice, did I?" The fairy asked with clear disappointment lacing her voice. It was clear to anyone with eyes that she didn't want to be preparing to perform the worst task of her life. Ruby simply shook her head. She would never understand what they were making the fairy-nun do, but from the utter embarrassment and shame that emitted from her, the lanky brunette could only guess.

Rumple and Charming had already collected the Blue Fairy and seated her in the middle of the station. Her magic had been returned to her for the extraction and reversion to work successfully. For a moment, Charming worried that the fairy would escape, but the moment he spotted Rumple tightly holding her wings behind her back, he knew that she wouldn't be going anywhere.

As he had watched Rumple transfer her magic back into her veins for the removal of her wings, he could feel his own personal anger build and build. He had never fully trusted the fairy in all the time he had known her. When she suggested teleporting his new born in a tree trunk to some unknown world alone, he had been incredibly dubious. Then, when he learnt that August had been allowed to pass through the portal before her, his anger only escalated. The only reasoning he had for remaining unbiased towards the fairy was for his wife's sake. He still had no idea why she still believed in the fairy, but if Snow trusted her, Charming felt every obligation to do so too. Now he just had to fight the urge to scream ' _I told you so_ ' at her.

"Let's get this show on the road, shall we, dearies?" Rumple asked as soon as he spotted Nova and her anxious demeanour. He nodded to Charming to allow the prince to begin his announcement as to what would be happening to the fairy's future.

"After long consideration and talks with a mediating council, it has been decided, that you, Mother Superior and Blue Fairy, have be objected to the punishment as follows." Charming started, falling straight into his former roles as the lawful husband of Snow White. During their time in the Enchanted Forest, Charming had envisioned himself and Snow standing over Regina, handing her a special form of punishment, much like this one. They had failed in previous attempts to kill the Queen, and now with the hindsight that he had, he knew that they were never destined to end the Queen's reign. She was meant for greatness and forgiveness, and this punishment would give her all of that. "It has been decided that your magical abilities will be officially stripped from your being. The magic will be locked away under the occupation of both Regina and Mr. Gold. This magic will only be returned to you should the town be in need of it; if it is ever returned to you, you will be expected to do as Regina or Gold instructs you, then it will be removed from your being once more. If you abuse this leeway, your magic will be crushed instantly."

He paused for a moment to watch the utter fear in Blue's eyes encase her entire body. Taking away the fairy's magic would do nothing but break the woman into dust – much like the way her magic would appear should she ever choose to abuse the trust they would be handing over to her in a case of emergency. He averted his eyes for a moment before beginning again.

"Secondly, it has also been decided that today you will lose your wings and fairy status." Charming ignored the fairy's outburst as she tried to throw herself at him in protest, only being stopped by Rumple's pinch on her wings. He cleared his throat slightly, trying to ignore the fact that he was revelling slightly in her reaction. "Your wings are to be removed and destroyed by Nova, who will be taking over your position on the fairy council. You are permitted, and expected, to remain at the convent, following whichever faith or way of life you choose to, but you will no longer be regarded as a fairy. From this day forward, you are to be known as a simple human being with no magical capabilities whatsoever. And, if you so choose to do so, you may remain in your position as Mother Superior at the convent.

"Lastly, you are no longer permitted to work alongside the Storybrooke Children's Home. The children will remain under the care of a few fairies who have offered their permanent services to raise the children until they are found a home and families to call their own. Thanks to you, the town is now fully aware of the lack of care and education that these children have been faced with. There will be no objection to any of these called punishments under the Storybrooke justice system, therefore, you are required to remain under house or _convent_ arrest until I deem it fit for you to leave your probation."

The fairy ducked her head to her chest as a glistening tear trailed down cheeks. Glitter clung to the remanence of liquid that stained her skin. She slumped in the chair, looking like she had officially lost every last will she had to live. Her own narcissism and idiocy had caused her to lose everything that defined her. She was being stripped of everything she had become and everything she ever was, and there was nothing she could do about it. For her, it was concerning how much she understood the council's reasoning. It was clear as day that she had made a mistake, and there was no turning back now. She did what she felt like she had to do, and now she had to pay the consequences for a delinquent _man_ that she had so stupidly taken to like her own son. Blue couldn't even consider who was more to blame: herself for being so stupid or Hayden for actually thinking he could get away with the things he had planned.

She didn't, however, begin to even remotely feel sympathetic towards Sheriff Swan and her familial surroundings for the pain and devastation that she had essentially caused. In her mind, giving the Evil Queen her chance at a happy ending was more than a drastic mistake, so to mix that with the happy ending of the _Saviour_ , would be setting the Charming family up for their ultimate demise.

"Rumple, Nova – if you will." Charming stepped back to stand beside Ruby, who he could see was enjoying it as little as he was. In the Enchanted Forest the two would have been more than enthusiastic about witnessing a drawn out procedure of capital punishment.

They both leaned against Charming's desk and watched as Nova explained how the extraction of a fairy's wings would consist of so much more than a simple magic retraction. With baited breath, they watched as she skilfully and fluently recited spell after spell above the sounds of Blue's torturous screams and cries until she was torn free of wings that fluttered for the last time in Nova's hands. Rumple, unlike Charming and Ruby smirked as they witnessed Nova levitate the wings from the palm of her had before disintegrating them into a ball of bright blue flames.

When the last flicker of blue magic faded in the dust, and nothing but ashes remained in Nova's hand, she slid them into a vial and reluctantly handed them over to the Dark One. He tucked them into the inside of his jacket with a pat and a sadistic grin.

"I think the Queen deserves a little souvenir from you, dearie." Rumple practically slurred with excitement that Blue's pain inflicted upon him. As Blue looked up to witness the raging excitement on his face, his hand plummeted deep into her chest.

"Gold, what the hell are you doing?!" Ruby practically screamed as she watched him retract the former fairy's heart from her chest. She wasn't surprised, however, when she saw the black, beating organ cradled in his hand.

"This needs to be preserved – for safe keeping." He magicked a box into his free hand, before gently placing the glowing heart inside and locking it tight. "And security measures."

*#*#*#*

A few hours later, Ruby, Charming and Rumple returned to the mansion with Hayden cuffed and magically silenced. Regina had made sure that the children were under Snow's supervision in the living room with the door shut in an attempt to keep them away from such a messy situation. She wanted to do the same with Emma, but the seamless grips that they had on each other's hands proved how much they needed one another for this trip. The acting Sheriff and former Dark One ushered Hayden into Regina's study, where they had moved the mirror so that it rested against the wall lengthways. Everything had been prepared and organised to the last moment, but Regina still felt uncomfortable with the idea of it all.

They had already been debriefed on the extraction and abolition of the Blue Fairy's wing and the boxing of her magical abilities. Rumple, however, had insisted that Charming and Ruby kept silent about the whereabouts of the fairy's heart.

"Are you ready, dearies?" Rumple asked, once everyone had found their positions in front of the mirror and the two women had finally let each other go.

Emma and Regina stared back at him – their faces pale and empty of any emotion as they both let go of one another and gripped onto Hayden's upper arms. They had agreed to maintain a physical connection with him as they crossed realms, as to assure that they didn't lose him somewhere on the way, but that didn't mean that they wanted to be doing it.

"As we'll ever be," Emma muttered, feeling more than a little anxious to be getting this over and done with. "Just make sure that you get us back if we're not home in an hour, okay?"

Rumple nodded. "After an hour, I'll be through there myself."

It wasn't much of a consolation, but it helped a little, and Emma was grateful for that. She needed someone other than Regina to remind her that it was all going to be okay, even though it was a very rare occasion that she trusted the former Dark One.

' _ **Are you ready?'**_ Regina asked, peering over Hayden's slumped shoulders to the blonde.

' _ **Yeah, let's go.'**_ Emma nodded and matched her step forward with Regina's and stepped through the mirror.

*#*#*#*

Before Emma knew it, the three realm travelers fell into a messy heap in the middle of a tiled floor. As she found her feet and helped Regina to stand, after giving Hayden an _accidental_ kick to the ribs, they found themselves surrounded. Tens of men circled Emma, Regina and Hayden, pointing sharpened swords or spears at their faces. Each man was dressed in a dark blue uniform with a matching beret on their heads. The sight was more intimidating that Emma ever cared to believe.

"Stand down," a woman's voice echoed through the huge room that they had appeared in. Seeing Regina's shoulders ease calmed Emma slightly as the group of guards retracted their swords and spears before stepping backwards to allow an elegant blonde glide through them in a flowing ice blue dress.

"You always did have a knack at those warm welcomes, Elsa." Regina commented as she spotted the Queen. Both women grinned at each other and found themselves in a friendly embrace. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"I could say the same to you, your Majesty, but I seem to have been faced with a few consequences of your curse." The blonde Queen raised her eyebrows, but there was no malicious intent in her words.

"I would apologise, but I think what I have brought for you is worth a thousand apologies." Regina stepped aside enough for Queen Elsa to see Hayden on his knees between herself and Emma.

Elsa's eyes widened at the sight. This time, her intentions _were_ malicious. She smirked at him as she signalled for two of her guards. They hoisted the young man up by his armpits and held him an inch above the floor. The sight was all too familiar for Emma, who instinctively found her way to Regina's side. She graciously took hold of the hand that Regina offered her when the brunette spotted her discomfort.

"Where in the realms did you find this monstrosity?"

Regina's breathy and sarcastic laugh was enough for Elsa to question it with just a look. "Unfortunately for us, Hans found his way over to the Enchanted Forest shortly before my curse, so like everyone else, he was brought over to our new world with it." The brunette glanced over to Emma for a moment, to see the conflicting flash in her eyes. "He had only recently made a public appearance, where he found his way into trouble with the royals _again_."

The Queen nodded briefly and turned to address her guards. "Take him to the dungeons. I will deal with him later, but someone _must_ remain with him at all times. The rest of you are required to protect this portal." She referred to the mirror that floated above the ground behind Hans. "The looking glass is to remain untouched – it is the only way for Queen Regina and her companion to return to their realm."

In unison, the Queen's guards nodded and marched to their assigned duties.

"Shall we take this somewhere private?" The Queen twirled on her heel and glided out of the room with Emma and Regina following closely behind the flowing train of her dress.

' _ **This is ridiculous. I knew we shouldn't have agreed to watch Frozen last night.'**_

' _ **Just be grateful that you don't have to meet Kristoff and his stinking reindeer.'**_

' _ **Oh, god. I'm actually terrified to ask about the trolls now.'**_

' _ **I'm sure they're around here somewhere. They're not as cute and tiny as they are in the movie. Ask your parents – I'm sure they will inform you about their**_ **wild** _**encounter with trolls in the Enchanted Forest.'**_

Emma raised her eyebrows at Regina in surprise, but the brunette simply smirked. Returning to Arendelle _was_ odd after seeing the Disney rendition of the chain of events, especially when it was the furthest thing from accurate, but she didn't need to share what information she could remember with Emma. It was better that she had simply overlooked the differences, otherwise she would ruin the world of Disney for the blonde all together.

Elsa pushed open a set of double doors that led into the castle's incredibly extravagant library. A fire roared in the centre of the room, much to Emma's surprise, and the candle lit walls created an incredibly warm feeling. Elsa took her seat beside the fire and waited for Regina and her _companion_ to join her in the loveseat opposite.

"I must apologise for my ignorance in the ballroom," Elsa said, addressing Emma. "I didn't ask for an introduction because, you see, the guards talk around here. We don't get a lot of gossip or controversy in Arendelle, so I'm sure you're already the word on everyone's lips."

As Emma opened her mouth to speak, Regina placed a hand on her thigh, instantly stopping her with the distraction of the placement of her hand. "Elsa, this is Princess Emma." She paused, waiting for a response from the Queen. When Elsa gave her nothing but a blank look, she smirked. "Emma is the daughter of Snow White and her _Charming_ husband."

The Queen's eyes widened this time. She couldn't believe the sight before her: the Evil Queen and the daughter of her arch-nemesis sitting together – sitting closer than close together. Then she spotted Regina's hand high on the princess' leg. Never in her lifetime would she had predicted that Queen Regina would ever manage to get the ultimate revenge on Snow White, but here it was, and it was completely perfect.

"I just can't believe you're _friends_ with Snow White's daughter. The baby that was supposed to be your demise and you're casually crossing realms with her… Have you gone soft or have you completely lost your mind?" Elsa's amusement was apparent in her voice, and even more so in the grin she sported.

Regina laughed. "Apparently both." She looked at Emma and entwined their hands in the blonde's lap. "Actually, it's rather ironic."

Elsa raised her eyebrows again, already assuming the gossip from the sight before her, yet she waited for her old friend to indulge her by confirming her speculations.

"Emma and I recently learned that we're not just _true loves_ , but soul mates too. She is the birth mother of my son, and we also have two daughters." Regina revelled in the bug-eyed look she received from Queen Elsa. She smirked and squeezed Emma's hand. "I didn't have to enact any sort of revenge for Snow. Apparently, it was written in the stars that I would one day get my own back on her."

Regina offered her friend a devilish grin. She didn't mean it, and Emma understood that, so she joined in with Elsa's laughter. It was, after all, incredibly ironic for the Evil Queen to fall in love with the one person that was meant to be her ultimate demise – not to mention their true love or soul mate connections. When Emma really thought about it, she knew it was the only thing to really make sense.

"We _accidentally_ broke a curse with True Love's Kiss, which then started Hans' ever troublesome reign." Regina frowned. "Let's just say that I'm just about ready to crush his cold little heart beneath my boot; hence the reason why we were so willing to bring him to you. He needs a punishment fit for treason and as I recall, you would very much like to provide him with your own little bit of revenge."

The blonde queen's mouth formed into a perfect 'O', before drastically changing into a sadistic smirk that Emma knew could give Regina's a run for her money. It was more than worrying, yet Regina's delicate squeeze of her hand was enough of a reassurance for her.

' _ **She's got this under control, darling.'**_

Emma looked over to Regina and smiled. She didn't know how, nor did she know why, but somehow, Regina always seemed to know what she was thinking and exactly what to say in those moments. The blonde knew it had nothing to do with their true love connection, because she would have been experiencing Regina's thoughts and feelings as well, wouldn't she?

"Oh, I'm sure I can organise something most… chilling." Elsa winked at the couple across from her, knowing that Regina would get as much of a kick out of her puns as she did. "After the hell that he put my family through, he deserves nothing more than my very worst, and if the _Evil Queen_ won't even deal with him after hurting hers, then it must have been bad." She looked over at Emma with a sad smile, knowing exactly who this was about. "What did he do to you, sweetheart?"

Regina's grip tightened on Emma's hand and she knew that the woman was telling her that she needn't react, but Emma actually wanted to. She wanted to show someone that seemed to understand what Hayden was capable of – not that Regina didn't, because Emma knew that she did, it was just everyone else that was incessant on asking her what had happened and why she didn't fight back. She let go of the brunette's hand and stood to raise the front of her shirt to expose the deep, pink laceration across her torso. Elsa gasped and sighed as she bit back her temptation to reach out to the mess he had left on the blonde. When Emma dropped the front of her shirt to turn and raise the back of it, Elsa cringed as she saw the three separate lacerations on her back.

"Oh, my," she breathed, as Emma let her shirt fall and sat with Regina once more. The Queen looked at the other blonde with sad eyes; she had seen this all before from him, just before he had slipped through her fingers. The last person he had done it to, in her knowledge, never recovered. "Anna… He did this to Anna."

Emma glanced at her puzzled, her brow furrowed. "Anna as in your sister – Princess Anna?"

Elsa nodded and wrung her hands in her lap, only then dropping the walls that she had so clearly put up around her. The woman had visibly cracked before their very eyes. Now Emma understood why she wanted Hayden back under her watchful eye.

"You were incredibly lucky to have gotten Emma out of that alive, Regina." She practically whispered. "How did you… you know… stop the bleeding?"

Regina retook Emma's hand in her own, not providing Emma with stability, but requesting it for herself this time. Emma hadn't much of an idea around what had happened shortly after they found her in the basement. Her arrival at the hospital was still a complete blur for the woman, but the things Regina had told her about her near death experience was still fresh in her memory.

"Medicine in our world is a wonderful thing," she mused as she shook her head. "The Dark One – he managed to stop the bleeding as our healers pumped fresh blood through her veins. Her heart stopped momentarily, but with the magic that was still pumping through her body, they were able to save her with drugs and remedies. Snow and I – we thought we had lost her for a moment."

"Well, I'm glad someone could have been saved from his hand."

Regina stared intently at Emma with a sad smile. She had worn her heart on her sleeve for the last couple of weeks, and now it ached. She hadn't realised how similar Emma's attack had been in comparison to Anna's, and in hindsight, she was glad that she couldn't remember it in it's entirely. They had been so close to losing one another – Regina was so close to losing another loved one, and she knew her heart never would have healed if that had happened.

"That's why we've brought him to you. Rumpelstiltskin has destroyed his magic completely, and he had been magically silenced. The silver things on his wrists can be pried off with tools, but magic will easily remove them." Regina told the Queen, who seemed to be just as lost in thought as the rest of them.

"Thank you, Regina. Maybe now, my sister will have the justice she so deserves."

The brunette smiled at the Queen. She really did hope that Elsa was able to get the justice that they all knew she needed for Anna. And technically, the justice they deserved for Emma. Not that she wanted to admit it to the blonde, but Regina knew that Hans was about to meet a very sticky ending whether he liked it or not.

"I think we should probably be going," The brunette suggested as she took to her feet. As much as she had enjoyed seeing her old friend again, Regina wanted nothing but the comfort of her own home, with Emma's arms wrapped around her waist and their three children in her sight. There were still too many ghosts of her past roaming around this library and the rest of the castle. She looked down at Emma and cocked her head towards the door. "Amira is probably already trying to wreck the living room or tormenting your mother with her new magic tricks."

The Saviour nodded with a smile and stood to wrap her arm around Regina's waist before addressing the Queen. "I'm so sorry about your sister."

Elsa dropped her head as she stood. "Thank you, Emma." She guided them both to the library door before stopping in her tracks and turning around to face the two women behind her. This time, her smile was back and the ghosts of her own past drifted to the back of her head. "You have to promise me that you will return to Arendelle during winter. I think you would enjoy how much it has changed here, your Majesty."

She winked at Regina, who nodded, noncommittally. This was the last place that she wanted to return to, but if it made her friend and her children happy to return, then she would consider it – even if it was just for a weekend break, she would think about it. She thought about the ice-skating lessons that Elsa and Anna had given her on her first visit to the kingdom. It _had_ been one of her more favourable memories as Queen after all.

They followed Elsa back to the huge ball room, where at least six guards surrounded the _looking glass_ portal, ensuring that no one went in or came out of it. Hans was gone, but the guards had left a visible trail of blood in their wake, which made Emma shudder at the thought.

"If you ever wish to visit, Storybrooke is always welcome to you, Elsa," Regina said to her friend as she hugged her goodbye. "I think you would like it there – it's far too cold for my liking, but it can be beautiful when it's not being destroyed by curses and other things of magical ridiculousness."

The blonde Queen smiled her gratitude at the offer as she approached Emma and whispered: "You're a lucky woman, Princess Emma. I always imagined that I would have been the one to thaw Regina's frozen heart, but I'm glad it's you. I see how much she loves you – she looks at you like you are the only person she sees – you're the only one that matters in her world. Cherish that. Cherish her. She needs someone to love her."

Emma grinned at the other woman. "Thank you, Elsa. It has been a pleasure to meet you – strange, but pleasurable."

Elsa bowed her head. "But don't you dare break her heart. Break her heart, and I'll freeze yours, do you understand?"

Holding her hands up in surrender, Emma held back a chuckle. "I won't break her heart – that's something I could never do."

Retaking Regina's hand in her own, Emma pulled the brunette into her side and guided them back towards the mirror, both woman feeling ready to be at home at the place that started all of this. They were ready to create their own normality in the comfort of the mansion surrounded by their children and the people they called family. They were the lucky ones; they had managed to get out of this alive and happy, but now it was time to return to reality.

They waved over their shoulders to the Ice Queen who had wrapped her arms tightly around her waist and nodded to them in farewell as they finally stepped back into the portal; back to Storybrooke.


	30. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Emma stood in front of the floor length mirror, staring at her partially naked frame. The carefully chosen lace underwear she had picked out specifically for tonight still wasn't enough to distract from the still pink scars over her abdomen and back. No amount of body paint or raunchy lingerie would have been able to cover it. Absentmindedly, she traced the thick scar over her stomach with her index finger and felt her heart constrict as the tips of her fingers ghosted over the tender flesh.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Snow asked as she carried the heavy, white gown across the room to her daughter. "If you're nervous, then you have every right to be - on my proper wedding day to your father, I was so nervous that I couldn't stop vomiting, and we were technically already married at this point."

Snow smiled at Emma through the mirror with a sense of reminiscence until she spotted her daughter's hand tracing her deep laceration scars. The last year had been hard. Gods, it had been more than hard, and everyone in town had been given front row seats to it. Once Blue's magic and wings had been removed, and Hayden had been handed over to Queen Elsa, most of the town was in uproar. With very few people knowing what had happened to their Sheriff, many of the Blue Fairy's followers and supporters took up their annoyance with the only person they believed had caused the issue: Mayor Mills. Citizens from all over town fled to the Town Hall to express their grievances with the Mayor once she had returned to work.

For weeks the Mayor had to plead ignorance to the former fairy's situation until she finally cracked and called a town meeting. Much to Emma's reluctance, they discussed what had happened to the fairy without giving the fullest of explanations to the crowds. Once the people of Storybrooke saw the utter devastation and embarrassment on their Sheriff's face, the regular requests for _audiences_ with the Mayor began to decline until she only had a few weekly regulars of citizens that would spend their days coming up with fake qualms to complain about.

It was hard on Emma too as they slowly but surely found their own normalities. Her nightmares returned after their trip to Arendelle, and her personal insecurities of eventually being abandoned rose to the surface, ultimately cracking the walls she had successfully built around herself. Her constant fears of losing everything were always present and seemed to go hand in hand with a few of the things that Hayden had tortured into her mind. There was nothing that she feared more than losing her family from her own mistakes, so Emma took her mother's pressing advice and took to seeing Archie twice a week to talk through everything. Regina knew, and she was more than supportive – even more so when Archie convinced the blonde to organise a regular date night with her true love. Their dates were perfect in every possible way for both women. They were comfortable and relaxed, with seemed to help even more with the confusing pace of their relationship. But it took a while for Emma to finally feel comfortable enough to let her guard down.

The Swan-Mills engagement had happened a month after Emma agreed that she no longer required her weekly sessions with Archie, and exactly seven months since their first kiss. Emma had got down on one knee in front of the Clock Tower with a ring that made Regina squeal like an overexcited child. But that was five months ago, and now, here they were, preparing for the day that they had all been waiting for. Kathryn and Ashley had offered to be Regina's bridal party, while Ruby, Snow and Belle had insisted that they were Emma's bridal party and wedding planners. The whole thing had been incredibly overwhelming for both brides, so Snow wasn't surprised when she noticed that Emma had become alarmingly distant when her daughter agreed to sleep at the apartment the night before their big day.

"I'm not nervous," Emma finally said to her mother. She tried to offer her a comforting smile through the mirror, but Snow refused to buy it. "I'm just… thinking."

"Thinking about what?"

"Everything, you know?" With a huff, Emma turned to face her mother and accepted the dress that Snow held above her head. She wriggled her hips through the heavy material until it fell perfectly onto her frame, leaving nothing more than the corset to be tied at the back. She turned again to look at her improved reflection in the mirror. With a sweetheart neckline, crystallised bodice and voluptuous skirt, Emma Swan finally saw the princess her mother always wanted her to be. "We've been through so much already, and we've only been together for a year. I'm just worried that one day, she's going to get fed up of all of my baggage and make me leave. And I know she's already said that won't happen, but I can't help but worry that it might – she's everything to me, mom, and I can't lose her. She's my happy ending, and… god, I don't even know how to explain how much I love her."

Snow raised her eyebrows at her daughter in surprise. She had heard Emma talk like this before, yet it still seemed to surprise her every time she openly spoke about her insecurities. But she did understand, however, how her daughter couldn't find the words to explain how much she loved Regina; her own love for Charming _still_ felt the same way it did when she shared her first kiss with the love of her life.

"You're not going to lose her, Emma. You literally hold Regina's heart in your hands; she has given you her everything because she trusts you and loves you. There's nothing in this world that could make her want you to leave. She's even getting married _again_ because she loves you – do you know how hard today is going to be for her? After her wedding to my father, she vowed never to marry again because it hurt her so much the first time, and now you've managed to make her believe that she can be happy in a marriage. You just have to stand up tall and do everything you can to make her happy and keep her, because we all know that Regina Mills is a strong woman to hold down and a very difficult woman to please."

"She could do so much better than me…"

"You think that the _Evil Queen_ could do better than the _Saviour_?" Snow laughed in disbelief as she pulled the ribbon of Emma's corset through its rightful sections. "You are her Saviour – you were literally made to save her, Emma. You were made to save one another, and there is no love in this world that is greater than the love that the two of you share. Your love is stronger than the love your father and I have; no matter what happens in your marriage, you will always come back from it stronger than ever." She pulled tightly on the last section of Emma dress, making her daughter wheeze within its restrictions and tied it efficiently within the excess material. She looked over Emma's shoulder at her daughter's stunning reflection in the mirror. "Look at yourself, Emma. You look gorgeous. There is no one in this world that wouldn't be jealous of Regina after today - she is the lucky one to get to call _you_ her wife."

Emma looked at herself in the mirror. It was the first time that day that she could say she really looked at herself in her wedding make-up, with her perfect hair-do and flawless dress. And her mother was right; she did look gorgeous, in every way, but she knew that there was no use hiding behind the silk and taffeta material that encased her body in a flow of white. For the first time, she physically looked innocent and untouched; and that was what she wished she was offering up to Regina for the rest of their lives.

"Now, sit in the chair, and we'll make you look like the Princess you were always meant to be."

*#*#*#*

Regina sat at her dressing table, already clad in her floor length white wedding gown, staring at the sonogram and multiple other photos that Emma had wedged between the mirror and the frame. A delicate smile graced her lips as she glanced over the photos that they had accumulated over the previous year. There were ridiculous 'selfies', family photos, portraits of their three children, and multiple candid photos of each other that they had casually taken from time to time. Regina's favourite photo that had been wedged between the frame at the top of the mirror was a small Polaroid image that Emma had taken of them on their first Christmas together. Regina had been forced into wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, and Emma had bought one to match. They had looked ridiculous, but the huge smiles on their faces and lipstick smudges around their lips screamed that they didn't care. But that's what Emma had done to her; she had stopped caring so much about what everyone else in town seemed to think of her.

Over the last year, Emma had turned her into the social butterfly that she now was. Before Neverland, she would have cringed at the thought of how domestic she had become with the blonde, but now, as she waited for her wedding to the love of her life, she reveled in the thought of it.

"Okay, the kids are ready," Kathryn announced, pulling Regina away from her thoughts as she entered the bedroom. "Granny had to fight Amira into her dress, but she's finally in it and looking adorable; Henry's got the rings, and Charlotte has your bouquets. I saw Ruby on my way up, and she said that Snow and Emma were having a little heart to heart, so they're running a little behind schedule."

Regina nodded to her friend and pushed herself from the stool at her dresser. "Thank you, Kathryn – for everything. I don't think I would have gotten this far without you."

"Don't mention it." Kathryn grinned and accepted the embrace that Regina offered her. "I just wanted you to be happy, Regina. I couldn't see you lose Emma – you both needed this… Oh, and Mr. Gold is here to see you. He's just outside."

The brunette nodded as Kathryn held the door open to the former Dark One to enter with a small wooden box in his hands. Regina's bridesmaid ducked her way out of the bedroom again and closed the door behind herself, giving the former Evil Queen some alone time with her former mentor.

"I wasn't expecting to see you under after the ceremony," Regina commented as soon as her bedroom door clicked shut.

"Well, dearie, I wanted you to have this before you took your first steps towards your happy ending." He handed her the wooden box and leaned on his cane. "We all know that you have _changed_ , but I thought that you may want to keep hold of this for piece of mind."

Regina furrowed her brow at the old man in suspicion as she opened the box. Her eyes widened in panic as say lay her hers on the black, pulsating heart inside the red velvet lined box. Her voice quivered as she spoke. "Whose heart is this, Rumple?"

"Take a guess,"

"Something is telling me that it's Emma's, but I don't think it is. Is it?" She took the heart from the box and held it in her hand for a moment before dropping it back in the box as if the organ had burnt her skin. "Blue…"

"Mother Superior and I agreed that you would prefer a souvenir from your little _adventure._ " Rumple winked at his apprentice as she slowly closed the box shut. "Keep it – just in case you _do_ actually need her magic. You can keep her under control, and without her heart, she will never truly be free."

Regina clutched the box to her abdomen. She didn't want the heart in her possession – the idea of having such a reminder of her past was haunting, but as it beat within the restriction of the box, she reminded herself why it needed to be there. She reminded herself why she could never return it. With one wave of her hand, the box disappeared from her hand to her empty hideout beneath her family burial vault, where it would remain until they needed it - should they ever need it.

"Thank you, Rumple." She offered him a genuine smile before he nodded his head to take his leave.

Then, she was alone again. That was until Emma's voice echoed around her head.

' _ **Please don't be mad at me for doing this,'**_ Regina couldn't resist the temptation to roll her eyes or even grin at the sound of her love's voice. ' _ **I just needed to hear your voice before we do this.'**_

' _ **You're not getting second thoughts, are you, Miss Swan?'**_

' _ **No chance.'**_ There was a momentary pause while Regina spotted that Kathryn had rejoined her and stood staring at her questioningly. She tapped her temple with a wink, prompting Kathryn to laugh and shake her head. She sauntered over to the edge of the brunette's large bed and took a seat to watch Regina's animated facial expressions as she listened to Emma in her head. ' _ **I just wanted to tell you that I love you… And that I hope I'm enough for you.'**_

' _ **Emma Swan, you will always be enough for me. You're my happy ending. So, I'm sorry to tell you, but you're stuck with me.'**_

' _ **Even though I'm damaged goods?'**_

' _ **You are not damaged goods, Emma. To me, you're perfect, and I wouldn't have it any other way.'**_

There was another pregnant pause for a moment. ' _ **I'll see you soon, okay?'**_

' _ **Okay. I love you, Emma.'**_

' _ **I love you too, 'Gina.'**_

Regina rolled her eyes at the sound of Emma's voice in her head. It was obvious that Emma would be smirking to herself on the other side of the mansion as her mother helped her with her final adjustments. Hearing Emma's voice was comforting; she needed the security and reassurance to even have the confidence to walk herself down the aisle again, even though she knew how different it would be this time. The last time she found herself walking down the aisle, there had been no one on her arm to give her away, but this time, she would have her son on her arm willingly handing her over to his birth mother. This time, she would be surrounded by people she called her friends and family instead of a ballroom full of strangers that simply wanted to catch a glimpse at the King's teenage bride. This time, she would willingly be saying ' _I do'_ to the love of her life – to her Saviour.

The bedroom door opened again, revealing Henry, Charlotte and Ashley with beaming grins on their faces. Charlotte's dressed matched Ashley and Kathryn's, while Henry's dark grey suit was accented with a light grey cravat that paired him with the bridesmaids.

"Are you ready, mom?" Henry asked with his ring pillow stuffed under his arm. He stood multiple inches taller than he had done a year ago, and now, he seemed to tower over his older sister by at least two inches. The sight before her was enough for Regina to begin to tear up again.

She swiftly nodded, hoping to rid herself of the tears that were quickly forming in her eyes. "As I'll ever be, darling." She smiled at her children and pulled them both into her arms. Where she had previously been able to wrap her arms around their shoulders, she found herself barely being able to even wrap her arms around Charlotte's shoulders, let alone Henry's. With an arm wrapped around Henry's waist and an arm high around Charlotte's shoulders she pulled them as close as physically possible, grounding herself to her children.

"Ma is already waiting in position in the tent – we're just waiting on you now." He told her with his deep voice.

"And Amira? Is she ready?"

"Granny's got her – she's going to take her seat as soon as we get there." Charlotte told her as the three eventually came out of their embrace. She handed her mother a bouquet of white roses. "Everything is ready. Ruby and Belle will walk first, followed by Ma and Charming, then I'll walk Amira down, Kathryn and Ashley will be behind us, then it's you and Henry."

Regina took a deep breath and accepted Henry's arm when he offered it to her, and followed her bridesmaids out of the bedroom for the last time as a single woman.

*#*#*#*

Emma held her breath and gripped tightly onto her father's arm as she heard the music begin to echo through the huge white tent that Rumple had erected in the garden of the mansion for the wedding. The entire thing had been enchanted to play music at appropriate times, redecorate for the reception and after party, and even triple in size on the inside. It was big enough to accommodate the entire town inside, but Emma and Regina had managed to cut the guest list down to a hundred of their closest friends and family; it would have been a quarter of that, but with Snow's input and complete control over the entire day, the two women threw in the towel and agreed to allow her to plan the entire thing while they skived off doing _other things_.

With a squeeze of her arm, Charming motioned for Emma to start their walk down the aisle towards Archie, who had agreed to officiate their wedding. She gripped tightly onto the stems of her bouquet and forced out a nervous smile as her stomach flipped with excitement and utter terror. The short walk from the entrance of the tent to the perch at the other end felt like an eternity for the blonde as she glided down on her father's arm. After her brief conversation with Regina, most of her nerves had dissipated, aside from the ones she held over messing up her vows or even falling down the aisle still resided in the pit of her stomach. When they finally reached Archie and her two bridesmaids at the front of the tent, Charming pressed a kiss to his daughter's cheek, and happily took his seat beside his wife, leaving Emma at the altar to wait for the rest of their wedding party.

She was quickly joined by Charlotte and Amira, who took their positions beside Belle and Ruby after Amira had thrown her petals everywhere and tossed a handful at her blonde mother, just for good luck. The onlookers all giggled and awed at Amira's little performance as she grinned back at them from her position on Charlotte's hip. Next came Ashley and Kathryn, who both elegantly sauntered down the aisle and took their positions opposite Emma's bridesmaids. And that's when Emma's nerves truly kicked in. She knew that Henry and Regina were next, and suddenly it was all becoming incredibly real.

As the bridal march echoed again, Emma watched as their audience all turned in their seats to catch a first glimpse at Regina as she elegantly glided from behind the entrance of the tent and into Emma's line of sight. She looked radiantly stunning, and everyone knew it. A few gasps travelled throughout the tent as they marvelled at Regina's sweetheart dress and glistening bodice that caught every bit of light that shone into it. At first, like everyone else, Emma had noticed every detail of her future wife's stunning dress, until she spotted her blushing bride. A deep shade of crimson radiated from Regina's chest, while a delicate pink appeared beneath her make-up. In Emma's eyes, the raw emotion that pulsated from Regina's face was the most stunning thing to see. Her heart skipped a beat when Henry kissed his adoptive mother on the cheek before joining Kathryn and Ashley, who had taken their bouquets immediately.

"Hi," Regina whispered when she came face to face with the blonde, who was now grinning like a mad fool.

"Hi," Emma laughed at her as their wedding party's chatter began to die down. "You look amazing."

"As do you, my love." Regina matched Emma's grin as she took Emma's hands in her own.

Archie cleared his throat to gain the attention of the entire wedding party. Silence fell as his voice projected through the enchanted tent and the lighting dimmed to create a comfortable aura.

"We are gathered here today to witness the union of two very special women; Regina Mills and Emma Swan. Exactly a year ago to this day, our little town of Storybrooke was changed forever when Emma and Regina shared their first kiss." Archie paused momentarily for a few whispers throughout the party. "We were fortunate enough to have witnessed these two women fall in love in the toughest times; they found their light within the darkness, and managed to return Storybrooke to its peaceful past."

Many people in the wedding party nodded and agreed that without Emma and Regina's kiss of true love, they never would have seen the endless possibilities in finally uniting the town as one.

"Marriage is a special place, the sheltered environment in which we can endlessly explore ourselves in the presence of another and in which we can offer the possibility of true reflection of another. As the writer Richard Bach has so beautifully stated, ' _A soulmate is someone who has locks that fit our keys, and keys to fit our locks. When we feel safe enough to open the locks, our truest selves step out and we can be completely and honestly who we are; we can be loved for who we are and not for who we're pretending to be. Each unveils the best part of the other. No matter what else goes wrong around us, with that one person we're safe in our own paradise. Our soulmate is someone who shares our deepest longings, our sense of direction… Our soulmate is the one who makes life come to life._ '

"Emma and Regina, I remind you that marriage is a precious gift, a lifelong dedication to love and a daily challenge to love one another more fully and more freely. In this, you are given someone to love; someone to trust; someone to confide in when you need it most."

Emma and Regina's eyes locked together as they smiled at how appropriate Archie had made their wedding ceremony. It was then, that both women knew what was coming next. The nerves that had been building between them merely grew as Archie continued his service.

"Do you, Emma Swan, take Regina Mills, to be your beloved wife, knowing in your heart that you will be a faithful friend, and a loving companion? On this special day, in the presence of family and friends as witnesses, do you give your sacred vow that you will always be with Regina and support her, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow? Do you promise to love her completely, to console and comfort her during difficult times, to laugh with her and to grieve with her, to share with her life's simplest but most enduring pleasures, to be truthful and honest with her, and to cherish her, for as long as you both shall live?"

Emma swallowed thickly, feeling her chest constrict and her heart pound rapidly in her chest. She squeezed Regina's hands in her own and attempted to nod the tears out of her eyes. "I do," she all but croaked with a toothy smile.

"And do you Regina Mills, take Emma Swan, to be your beloved wife, knowing in your heart that you will be a faithful friend, and a loving companion? On this special day, in the presence of family and friends as witnesses, do you give your sacred vow that you will always be with Emma and support her, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow? Do you promise to love her completely, to console and comfort her during difficult times, to laugh with her and to grieve with her, to share with her life's simplest but most enduring pleasures, to be truthful and honest with her, and to cherish her, for as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," Regina replied confidently without missing a beat, even though she could feel her heart race faster than she ever believed possible. She refused to take her locked eyes away from the blonde's glowing green ones, knowing that they were the only anchor she had to stop herself from bursting into uncontrollable tears, even if they were tears of happiness.

"Emma and Regina have chosen to read their own vows to one another as they offer each other their rings." He paused for a moment and glanced over at Henry, who had already positioned his mothers' rings on the cushion. "Emma and Regina's rings are an external and visible sign of the internal and spiritual bond of love which unites their two hearts. May they serve as a seal of the vows Emma and Regina have made to one another. Bless these rings, symbols of eternity, beauty and strength. Bless the couple who give them and wear them—may they ever live in harmony, unity, love, and happiness from this day forward.

"Emma, if you would please read your vows to Regina."

The blonde nodded and cleared her throat. She had been practicing her vows for weeks, so in her heart she knew them, but whether she could perform them was another thing. "I choose you, Regina, to stand by your side and sleep in your arms." Emma stuttered slightly before taking a deep breath. She looked up at Regina, to see the brunette grinning, as if she were trying to encourage Emma to continue; so she did. "To be joy to your heart and food for your soul. To learn with you and grow with you, even as time and life change us both. I promise to laugh with you in good times and struggle alongside you in bad times. I promise to respect you and cherish you as an individual, a partner, and an equal, knowing that we do not complete, but complement each other. May we have many more adventures and grow old together."

Regina's smile only grew as Emma took her ring from the pillow and slowly slid it onto her waiting finger. Her mind couldn't help but think of the ring's weightless feel in comparison to her first marriage. Just the small symbol of connection had gone from being a bad thing of the past for Regina, to being a beautiful thing that she knew would only make her stronger in years to come.

"And Regina, if you would read your own vows to Emma." Archie asked as soon as Regina's ring sat perfectly on her finger.

"Emma, I love you unconditionally and without hesitation. I vow to love you, encourage you, trust you, and respect you. As a family, we will create a home filled with learning, laughter, and compassion." She glanced over Emma's shoulder to see Charlotte and Amira watching her intently with smiles that matched her own and Emma's. She even felt Henry's comforting hand on the small of her back, reminding her how far they had all come to be in such a loving and wonderful position. "I promise to work with you to foster and cherish a relationship of equality knowing that together we will build a life far better than either of us could imagine alone. Today, I choose you to be my wife. I love you for everything you are, and I offer myself in return. I will care for you, stand beside you, and share with you all of life's adversities and all of its joys from this day forward, and all the days of my life."

This time, Regina took Emma's ring from the pillow and offered it to the blonde's finger. It slid towards her knuckles in a perfect fit. Glancing up, Regina smiled lovingly at the woman she called her own, and resisted herself from actually pulling the blonde towards her and engulfing her in a premature kiss.

"Emma and Regina," Archie began again, this time indulging in his own smile that was on par with everyone else's in the wedding party. "By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you Mrs and Mrs Swan-Mills. You _now_ may kiss your bride."

Emma wasted no time in pulling Regina's body flush against her own and wrapping her hand around the brunette's exposed neck to pull her into a passionate and meaningful kiss. As their lips collided together with a crash, the ground beneath their feet shook and a bright flash of light emitted directly from the centre of the kiss. The two women were far too pre-occupied and amused to actually do anything about what happened for a moment. When they slowly parted from one another's lips, Emma chuckled and pressed her forehead against her wife's.

"Did we just break another curse with true love's kiss?" She asked as their wedding party divided between irritated sighs or exasperated laughs.

" _Trust me_ , I think we just broke more than just one curse, darling."

_**fin.** _


End file.
